This amount (250 million dollars) would not only represent the biggest financial flop of the year or of Tom Cruise’s career, but also one of the largest financial black holes in recent film history, if not of all time. The film would thus join the unenviable club of industrial disasters such as The Marvels, John Carter, Avalonia, the strange journey, Lone Ranger, birth of a hero, or Mortal Engines.
This new estimate is almost double the previously announced losses, which ranged between 125 and 150 million dollars. And even then, this calculation already takes into account the revenue the film could generate after its theatrical run.
Digger drains Warner’s coffers
Released last weekend, Digger has grossed only 21 million dollars worldwide. According to internal Skydance sources, its final worldwide takings are not even expected to reach the 40 million dollar mark.
Sources close to the production put the budget at between 163 and 173 million dollars. To that would be added about 100 million dollars spent on marketing.
The end of oil, and of dollars!
Another aggravating factor is that Warner Bros. Pictures financed the feature entirely, unlike many other productions for which studios share the risks with financial partners. As a result, Warner will have to shoulder the entire bill alone.
Hollywood studios are often criticized for not taking enough risks and for lacking boldness. But in the case of Digger (click for our review), making Tom Cruise ugly in order to trap him in a pompous satire about the end of oil, carried by a feeble-minded message and stretched out like an endless filmed stage play, is no longer boldness, it is commercial suicide. Step right up for the bill!
