“Digger,” an black dark comedy directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise, is set to hit theaters in October 2026—and, unsurprisingly, the budget is on the high side for an auteur-driven project.
A Warner Bros. rep had already told Puck’s Matt Belloni that “Digger” cost $125M to produce, but Belloni was “suspicious,” saying he’s heard the final price tag was much higher. Now, Page Six Hollywood’s Ian Mohr also has a Warner rep giving him the $125M figure, but a studio insider tells him the film is actually “pushing $200 million,” calling the situation “insane.”
This is yet another “One Battle After Another” situation for Warner Bros.—a film that will need strong reviews and Oscar attention to fully justify its existence. Know what? Taking out the business aspect and viewing it on a purely artistic level, it’s great to see a major studio continuing to take risks on highly budgeted auteur works.
It’s not just “Digger.” Warner Bros. has had a 2026 that’s been defined by director-driven risks, including Maggie Gyllenhaal’s $100M “The Bride,” Emerald Fennell’s $90M “Wuthering Heights,” and David Robert Mitchell’s $80M “Flowervale Street.” Which other studio is doing this?
Of all these projects, the biggest gamble may be the Iñárritu/Cruise collaboration. The film has been described as “a new kind of film,” with Iñárritu saying Cruise “will surprise the world” with his prosthetic-heavy performance—sparking speculation that it could represent the actor’s best shot yet at winning his first competitive Oscar.
There hasn’t been much promotional material for “Digger,” which is releasing a little over four months from now, but if you caught the theatrical re-releases of “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” a teaser for the upcoming film was shown in cinemas—one that still hasn’t officially surfaced online. It did briefly leak last month, though it was quickly taken down by Warner Bros. after circulating for a few hours.
Iñárritu’s previous film, the Netflix-produced “Bardo,” struggled with critics and earned just one Oscar nomination for cinematography. Before that, however, he directed “The Revenant,” which won Oscars for both directing and acting (Leonardo DiCaprio) and grossed $532M worldwide.
“Digger” opens in theaters on October 2, 2026, via Warner Bros. Pictures, and is not expected to premiere at any of the fall festivals.
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