This TheWrap report is going to make some waves, and it will no doubt have a ripple effect on an industry that was already allergic to risk.
The latest is that "Digger" is shaping up to be one of Hollywood's biggest box office disasters ever. The Tom Cruise-led satire is now projected to lose a staggering $250M, even after post-theatrical revenue, which includes VOD and streaming licences.
I've had my qualms with Warner Bros over the years, including their continual underreporting of budgets. Remember, they have claimed this entire time that "Digger" cost only $125M, and after its tepid opening weekend, they fed the trades the absurd notion that the film's breakeven point was $300M.
The story goes that Skydance execs, who arrived on Tuesday at their new offices (formerly Warner Bros), opened the books and "were shocked to learn the extent of the loss" on "Digger" when the company was handed over this week. TheWrap's sources say the budget was $173M, and with roughly $100M spent on marketing, the $250M loss is the best-case scenario. The film is not expected to top $40M worldwide after opening to just $21M globally.
That $250M loss, which might end up being much more, would place "Digger" as the biggest box office bomb of the 21st century, inflation notwithstanding. The film would surpass previous champs "John Carter" ($250M), "The Lone Ranger" ($240M), "The Marvels" ($230M), "Strange World" ($200M), "Joker: Folie a Deux" ($200M), "Mortal Engines" ($160M+), "Supergirl" ($160M+), "The Flash" ($155M), "Snow White" ($150M+), "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" ($150M+), "Battleship" ($150M), "Tomorrowland" ($150M).
Adjusted for inflation, the biggest money loser in movie history is "John Carter" (2012), whose losses reach roughly $280M in today's dollars. “Digger” could very well surpass it. Old-Hollywood flops like Michael Cimino’s "Heaven's Gate" and Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s "Cleopatra" adjust to less than you'd expect: “Heaven's Gate” comes to about $158M, and “Cleopatra” eventually broke even.
Whatever the final number, and much like Cimino’s film, which signaled the death of ‘70s auteur cinema, the fate of "Digger" is going to scare off the other studios. Original, star-driven films that aren't built on existing IP were already a tough sell in Hollywood, and a loss of this size now gives every risk-averse exec the ammunition they need to say no.
Skydance execs, who arrived on Tuesday at their new offices (formerly Warner Bros), opened the books and "were shocked to learn the extent of the loss" on "Digger.”