Amazon MGM Studios’ psychological thriller Verity has opened with more than $33 million at the North American box office, while Tom Cruise’s latest film, Digger, has earned approximately $8 million during its opening weekend.
The contrasting performances of the two films were highlighted in an October 3 box-office report by Deadline. Despite their different opening figures, both releases received a C+ CinemaScore rating from audiences.
Based on the bestselling novel by Colleen Hoover, Verity stars Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. Directed by Michael Showalter, the film follows a struggling writer who is hired to complete the unfinished book series of a bestselling author following an accident.
The film was released in US theatres on October 2, 2026, by Amazon MGM Studios. Its opening weekend performance placed it at the top of the domestic box-office chart, with its reported earnings exceeding $33 million.
The story centres on Lowen Ashleigh, played by Johnson, who accepts a writing assignment from Jeremy Crawford, portrayed by Hartnett. His wife, Verity Crawford, played by Hathaway, is an established author who becomes unable to continue her work following an accident. As Lowen examines Verity’s manuscripts, she discovers disturbing information about the author and her family.
The film adapts Hoover’s 2018 psychological thriller, which became a bestseller and developed a substantial readership.
Meanwhile, Digger, starring Cruise, recorded an estimated $8 million in its domestic opening weekend. The figure marks the actor’s lowest theatrical opening in 19 years, since the 2007 release of Lions for Lambs.
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Digger features Cruise alongside Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons.
The film follows Digger Rockwell, an oil industry billionaire whose actions contribute to an environmental catastrophe. The project combines elements of satire and drama, with a storyline centred on the consequences of a large-scale crisis.
Warner Bros. distributed the film, which had been projected to earn a higher opening before its theatrical release. Its reported $8 million debut placed it significantly behind Verity during the same weekend.
The opening also drew attention because of Cruise’s established box-office history, particularly his leading roles in major franchises such as Mission: Impossible and Top Gun.
Both films received a C+ grade from CinemaScore, an audience-survey organisation that collects opening-night moviegoer feedback in North American theatres.
CinemaScore grades are based on responses from audiences attending a film’s opening-night screenings. The rating provides an indication of initial audience reception, although it does not independently determine a film’s overall critical standing or long-term commercial performance.
The matching grades offer a point of comparison between the two releases, despite the difference in their opening-weekend earnings.
For Verity, the opening represents the theatrical debut of another adaptation of Hoover’s work, following previous film adaptations of her novels, including It Ends with Us, Regretting You and Reminders of Him.
For Digger, the opening figure places its theatrical performance in a different context from Cruise’s recent franchise releases. Its subsequent box-office performance will depend on audience attendance in the coming weeks and its performance across additional markets.
The October 3 report therefore records two contrasting theatrical openings: Verity crossing the $33 million mark and Digger beginning its domestic run with approximately $8 million, while both films receive the same initial audience grade.
