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Verity Soars to $62M WW Opening, Digger Falters at $20M
Confirmed
In Short: Colleen Hoover's 'Verity' raked in $62.5M globally, while Tom Cruise's 'Digger' struggled with a $20M debut.
Colleen Hoover's latest novel adaptation, 'Verity,' starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, has seen a robust global opening, earning $62.5 million worldwide. This performance is the second-best for Hoover's work at the box office, trailing only 'It Ends With Us,' which grossed $95.6 million in its opening weekend.
'Verity' outperformed Hoover's previous film adaptations 'Regretting You' and 'Reminders of Him,' which opened to $23.6 million and $28.1 million respectively. The film's success was particularly notable in Brazil, where presales were already ahead of 'It Ends With Us,' and in Portugal and Hungary, where it topped the box office.
Amazon MGM Studios, which produced 'Verity,' has seen a strong performance in the female-driven content space. The film's $40 million production cost was recouped with its opening weekend gross, and it has drawn a diverse audience, including non-literary fans and male viewers. The film's success is also reflected in its CinemaScore of C+, similar to 'Digger,' but with a more positive critical reception.
In contrast, Tom Cruise's satirical black comedy 'Digger' failed to impress at the box office, grossing just $20 million worldwide. The film's opening weekend was a significant disappointment, especially considering its reported production cost of $125 million, with some sources estimating the true cost to be between $160 million to $180 million.
Audiences gave 'Digger' a CinemaScore of C+, the same as 'Verity,' but the film's critical reception was mixed, with a 51 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film's poor performance is a major setback for Warner Bros., which is set to merge with Paramount Skydance in October.
Despite the financial loss, Cruise remains optimistic about the film's potential. He took to social media to express his pride in the project, stating, 'I remain so proud of what we created.' However, the film's poor performance and polarized critical reception may make it difficult for 'Digger' to gain traction in the awards season.
The weekend's box office performance was mixed overall, with 'Verity' leading the way with a $32.6 million opening in North America. Other films like 'Resident Evil' and 'Primetime' also performed well, contributing to a collective total of around $100 million domestically.
The success of 'Verity' underscores the growing appeal of female-driven content at the box office, with Fandango director of analytics and Box Office Theory founder Shawn Robbins noting, 'Verity’s debut is another win for female-driven movies at the box office.'
What this adds
Despite the strong performance of 'Verity,' 'Digger' remains a significant financial loss for Warner Bros., marking an inauspicious final release before the studio's merger with Paramount Skydance.
Background
In contrast, 'Verity,' based on Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel, soared to the top of the box office with a Friday gross of $15.1 million, bringing its total to $33.6 million.
''Verity'' is an English-language female given name derived from the Latin ''veritas'', meaning "truth". It is also used as a surname.
What's confirmed
- Colleen Hoover's latest novel adaptation, 'Verity,' starring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett, has seen a robust global opening, earning $62.5 million worldwide. This performance is the second-best for Hoover's work at the box office, trailing only 'It Ends With Us,' which grossed $95.6 million in its opening weekend.
- 'Verity' outperformed Hoover's previous film adaptations 'Regretting You' and 'Reminders of Him,' which opened to $23.6 million and $28.1 million respectively. The film's success was particularly notable in Brazil, where presales were already ahead of 'It Ends With Us,' and in Portugal and Hungary, where it topped the box office.
- Amazon MGM Studios, which produced 'Verity,' has seen a strong performance in the female-driven content space. The film's $40 million production cost was recouped with its opening weekend gross, and it has drawn a diverse audience, including non-literary fans and male viewers. The film's success is also reflected in its CinemaScore of C+, similar to 'Digger,' but with a more positive critical reception.
- In contrast, Tom Cruise's satirical black comedy 'Digger' failed to impress at the box office, grossing just $20 million worldwide. The film's opening weekend was a significant disappointment, especially considering its reported production cost of $125 million, with some sources estimating the true cost to be between $160 million to $180 million.
- Audiences gave 'Digger' a CinemaScore of C+, the same as 'Verity,' but the film's critical reception was mixed, with a 51 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film's poor performance is a major setback for Warner Bros., which is set to merge with Paramount Skydance in October.
- Despite the financial loss, Cruise remains optimistic about the film's potential. He took to social media to express his pride in the project, stating, 'I remain so proud of what we created.' However, the film's poor performance and polarized critical reception may make it difficult for 'Digger' to gain traction in the awards season.
- The weekend's box office performance was mixed overall, with 'Verity' leading the way with a $32.6 million opening in North America. Other films like 'Resident Evil' and 'Primetime' also performed well, contributing to a collective total of around $100 million domestically.
What's still developing
- Word flowed into Amazon international from foreign offices that Verity wasn’t just a female skewing movie (in the U.S with a $32.6M start, it drew 78% female), rather pulled in non-literary lovers and dudes as well.
- With a $40M net production cost, Verity continues to underscore Amazon MGM Studios’ mark in the female content space, their Prime side rallying with series such as Off Campus and Elle to name a few.
- Housemaid, which is another global crowdpleaser by author Freida McFadden isn’t necessarily the comp here given its staggered rollout and year-end holiday boost, however, Verity slayed Housemaid in its openings in UK (No.
- Meanwhile, Digger dug itself a hole the blockbuster-priced Alejandro González Iñárritu movie won't be able to climb out of.
- On Monday, Tom Cruise gamely signed autographs and posed for pictures outside The Directors Village for the Los Angeles premiere of “ Digger,” flashing the confident smile that had made him a screen legend.
- That means “Digger” is staring at a loss of $150 million or more, according to two executives with knowledge of its finances.
- “They’re going to deliver 30 movies. It’s a community to me. It’s not an industry. The people in these studios are not just people in the studios, they’re my family,” Cruise told McAfee.
- “Good luck to you,” Abdy told Ellison with some bitterness.
- It debuted far below the weekend’s other new release, “Verity,” an adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel that critics have lambasted en route to its $32.6 million opening, and was also outgrossed by holdovers like “Resident Evil” and “Primetime.” International audiences, which typically show up for Cruise flicks, aren’t buying tickets.
- “Digger” earned $12 million from 74 markets to bring its global haul to a pallid $20 million.
- The only hope is that “Digger” can reemerge as an awards contender: an improbable outcome, but one that would provide some cultural value.
- As it stands “Digger,” which officially cost $125 million to produce (sources peg the true price tag at between $160 million to $180 million), needs to make roughly $350 million theatrically to break even.