The Tom Cruise-led apocalyptic satire "Digger," directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, has experienced a sharp decline in its box office presence, dropping out of the top 10 as its theater count plummeted by 76% in its third weekend. Opening on October 2 in 3,321 North American theaters, the film faced overwhelmingly negative reviews, particularly on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite Warner Bros. launching an ad campaign featuring Cruise himself to counteract poor critical reception, "Digger" had a disappointing opening weekend revenue of just $8 million. The film's domestic earnings continued to decline steeply, falling 60% to $3.2 million during its second weekend.

By Friday of its third week, "Digger" was pulled from 2,535 theaters, leaving it in only 786 venues across North America. This drastic reduction caused a major drop in revenue, with the film making approximately $920,000 over the weekend and finishing 15th at the domestic box office. Globally, "Digger" has so far earned around $41.7 million, with $17.2 million coming from the U.S. and $24.5 million internationally. The film’s poor performance on the big screen clearly underscores its failure to connect with audiences despite the star power and high-profile direction.

Financial analysis suggests that "Digger" is on track to become one of the biggest box office flops in recent history. Warner Bros. initially greenlit the movie with a budget of $125 million, but cost overruns pushed production expenses up to between $160 million and $180 million. A further $100 million was spent on global marketing efforts, inflating the total investment significantly. Industry estimates, such as those from Variety, predict that in order to break even, the film would need to generate roughly $350 million worldwide, factoring in the substantial cut taken by theater owners, who keep about half of ticket sales.

While the theatrical run of "Digger" seems destined for heavy losses estimated around $245 million, the studio might recoup some revenue through ancillary streams like premium video-on-demand and streaming releases. The Los Angeles Times notes that overall losses, including these additional sources, may soften to about $150 million. Rated R and starring Tom Cruise as the reckless oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, the film’s bleak box office outlook reflects the significant challenges studios face when high-budget projects fail to resonate with both critics and audiences.