NEW YORK – “Verity” opened at the top of the North American box office, collecting $32.6 million over the weekend and continuing the strong theatrical performance of films adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novels.
Directed by Michael Showalter, the thriller features Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway. The story centers on a writer brought in to continue a successful book series for an author who is unable to work due to her medical condition.
Tom Cruise’s “Digger”, meanwhile, struggled to attract audiences. The film earned just $8 million domestically and an additional $12 million across 74 international markets, marking a notably weak start for a star who has traditionally been a major global box-office draw.
The Alejandro G. Iñárritu-directed film carried a production budget of at least $125 million, with some estimates putting the figure closer to $150 million. Marketing expenses are believed to have added another $100 million.
Warner Bros. had initially viewed “Digger” as a major awards-season contender, but the film received a mixed-to-negative critical response over its satirical approach to climate change. Cruise’s performance was more positively received, yet the movie earned only a 51% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a C+ CinemaScore from audiences.
The underwhelming result arrives as Paramount Skydance prepares to complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal worth roughly $110 billion, a move expected to bring significant changes to Warner Bros.’ management and workforce.
Meanwhile, the re-release of “Avengers: Endgame” fell to seventh place with $4.4 million domestically and $14.4 million overseas. Its latest earnings lifted its worldwide total to approximately $2.9255 billion, narrowly moving it ahead of “Avatar” once again as the highest-grossing film in history, excluding inflation.
