Digger, Warner Bros. Last Release Before Merger, Is a Major Flop

On paper, it all sounded great.The superstar Tom Cruise meets the auteur Alejandro G.

Iñárritu and together they construct a satire lampooning the power-hungry billionaire class.Warner Bros., the filmmaker-friendly studio under the guidance of Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, believe in Mr.

Iñárritu, who had made two very different films, “Birdman” and “The Revenant,” into back-to-back best picture winners.But that was over a decade ago.Whether audiences were rejecting the idea of their never-aging action star Mr.Cruise in a quirky dramatic role playing a gray-haired older man or they were following the dismal reviews of the film, “Digger,” is on track in its opening weekend to be a resounding flop.

Audiences gave the film a C, according to the marketing research company CinemaScore.Opening in over 3,000 locations, the R-rated movie grossed an estimated $8 million for the weekend.The studio has said the film cost $125 million but others put the total closer to $150 million because of a delay in production after a cast member, John Goodman, fell on the set and had to recover before shooting could continue.

With nearly $100 million more spent on marketing — Mr.Cruise only flies private — the studio could lose $125 million to $150 million in total, making it one of the biggest flops of the year.It is an extraordinary capper for a year that has been marred by misfires.

None of Warner Bros.’ 2026 films has grossed more than $100 million, and “Supergirl” and “The Bride” both produced big losses for the studio.Now, “Digger” will be the final movie Warner Bros.will release as a stand-alone studio before it is scooped up by Paramount.

(The deal is set to close on Tuesday.) That is quite a different fate from a year ago, when the studio was riding high on its box office successes with “Sinners” and “Weapons” and its big Oscar winner, “One Battle After Another.”Warner Bros.executives declined to comment on the film’s perfo...