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Amazon MGM Studios’ Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity starring Anne Hathaway opened top of the North American charts on an estimated $32.6m in a weekend where multiple narratives played out and most of the attention was on Warner Bros’ fifth-placed Digger.
Playing in 3,510 theatres, the psychological thriller Verity delivered the second-best debut by a Hoover adaptation behind It Ends With Us, which arrived in August 2024 on an unadjusted $50m. That film, marred by a protracted legal fight between star Blake Lively and co-star and director Justin Baldoni, ended on $202.9m.
Besides the ongoing distraction of the latest re-release of Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame, known as Avengers Endgame: Encore, crowbarring its way past stablemate Avatar to reclaim the all-time global box office crown – it ranked seventh in North America after a $4.4m weekend contributed to $36.2m from this iteration and an $894.6m career running total – everybody was talking about Digger.
Warner Bros’ final release as a stand-alone studio before the $111bn merger with Paramount likely closes on Tuesday (October 6) opened in fifth place on $8m from 3,321 sites. Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s environmental satire and meta character study starring Tom Cruise as a mighty oil baron sounded like an enticing prospect on paper however the reality was different. Audiences rejected the film and it averaged a C+ CinemaScore.
Cruise took to social media over the weekend to express his pride in the polarising release as it posted the superstar’s lowest debut since Lions For Lambs opened to $6.7m in November 2007.
Notwithstanding that the film has its champions and may well figure in awards season, this marks a hugely disappointing end for the storied Warner Bros before the studio gets swallowed into David Ellison’s Skydance entertainment complex. Film group co-heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy are reportedly exiting the combined company and have been on a rollercoaster ride since they arrived from MGM in 2022.
After the lows of 2024 the executives enjoyed a stupendous 2025 that brought box office success and Oscar glory, only to return to the doldrums this year with misfires like SupergirlandThe Bride failing to cross $100m. Digger reportedly cost $150m not including $100m in marketing and is said to be on course for a $125m-$150m loss on a breakeven of $300m.
Sony’s Resident Evil from Zach Cregger – whose Weapons was on last year’s memorable Warner Bros slate – ranked second after a decent 46% slide in the third weekend on $12.5m for a $124.9m cumulative tally. Third place went to Paramount’s Brad Pitt and military dog adventure Heart Of The Beast on $11m for $38.4m after a 45% drop in the second session, while A24’s psychological thriller Primetime starring Robert Pattinson as TV host Chris Hansen dropped 58% and secured fourth on $8m for $34.1m after two weekends.
Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island fell 45% and ranks sixth on $7.2m for $23.6m after two. Zee Studios International’s Indian thriller Drishyam – The Conclusion opened in eighth place on $2.7m from 541 locations. Spider-Man: Brand New Day rounded out the top 10, and the highest-grossing release of all time in North America added $2.5m for $954.5m.
John Wilson’s Sundance documentary The History Of Concrete crossed $1m in its third weekend through Magnolia, adding $450,000 after expanding into more than 50 markets for an excellent $1.2m.
Overall box office combined for $98.9m and is tracking 14.8% ahead of the comparable weekend in 2025 Year-to-date stands at $7.9bn and tracks 19.5% ahead of 2025 by the same stage. Box office is on course to cross $8bn on October 9 give or take a day or two, after September generated $601.9m, up 1.3% on 2025, to rank as the seventh-highest September of all time
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Ben Kramer departing Black Bear as US distribution head
- Box Office
- Warner Bros Discovery sale
- Warner Bros.
