Tom Cruise is dominating movie searches again, but his latest film appears to be facing a difficult start at the box office.
“Digger,” the new film from Oscar winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, has surged in Google searches as audiences look for reviews, box office numbers and information about Cruise’s unusual new role.
The Numbers reports that “Digger” earned about $3.4 million from 3,321 North American theaters on Friday. Current estimates put its opening weekend at only around $7.5 million to $8 million.
That would make it one of Cruise’s weakest openings in nearly two decades.
The disappointing numbers are particularly striking because “Digger” represents a major change for the actor. Instead of another large scale action franchise, Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a powerful oil tycoon desperately trying to present himself as humanity’s savior after unleashing a devastating disaster.
Warner Bros. describes the film as an original production directed by Iñárritu and featuring a major ensemble cast including Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons.
Reviews have also been sharply divided.
The studio even leaned into the controversy surrounding the film's reception with a marketing campaign encouraging audiences to make up their own minds. People reported that the campaign highlighted dramatically different reactions from critics as Warner Bros. attempted to turn the debate into a reason to see the movie.
Cruise's star power is still generating enormous curiosity. Google Trends shows more than 200,000 searches around “Verity movie,” with related searches including “Digger,” “Tom Cruise,” “Digger reviews” and “Digger movie.”
But online attention does not appear to be translating into ticket sales at the same scale.
For one of Hollywood's most recognizable movie stars, “Digger” could now become an unusual test of whether curiosity and controversy can reverse a disappointing opening weekend.
