You can’t win ’em all.That’s a phrase Hollywood’s global cinematic icon and producer Tom Cruise isn’t likely to hear often.But this past weekend, what many consider Hollywood’s biggest movie star in history suffered one of the worst debuts of his career.
The painful performance at the box office of the dark comedy "Digger" was one for the headlines.Cruise earned legendary praise for keeping Paramount’s "Top Gun: Maverick" out of streaming services during the pandemic, forcing a theatrical-only release that grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, and has long been viewed as the studio’s "golden boy," anchoring multibillion-dollar intellectual properties and protecting the traditional theatrical experience.TOM CRUISE UNVEILS DRAMATIC TRANSFORMATION IN FIRST LOOK AT ALEJANDRO IÑÁRRITU’S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED 'DIGGER'Tom Cruise looks unrecognizable in "Digger" trailer.(Getty Images; Warner Bros.
Pictures)The Alejandro G.Iñárritu-directed "Digger," however, delivered a disappointing farewell note for Warner Bros.
as a standalone studio.It grossed only $8 million domestically and $12 million internationally, where Cruise is ordinarily a big draw.That’s despite the film reportedly costing between $125 million and $150 million to make, with marketing expenses estimated at $100 million."Given his extraordinary history with Paramount, the timing certainly adds an interesting layer to the story, but one movie doesn’t erase decades of success or the value he brings to a studio," Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for global media measurement and data analytics company Rentrak, told Fox News Digital.
"There are lessons to be learned from ‘Digger,’ particularly around budget, positioning and expectations, but I don’t see this changing the fact that studios will continue to want to work with him."Meanwhile, the weekend’s No.1 box office draw, debuting with $32.6 million, went to Amazon MGM’s erotic psychological thriller "Verity," directed...