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Verity opens with $4.5M in previews; Tom Cruise's Digger makes $1.2M

Amazon MGM's Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity made $4.5M in US previews and is projected to top the weekend chart, while Tom Cruise's Digger made about $1.2M and faces a weak opening.

2 outlets · 1L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Deadline
Image: Variety

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The story, neutrally told

MixedAmazon MGM's thriller Verity, based on Colleen Hoover's novel, grossed $4.5 million in previews at the US box office on Friday 2 October 2026. MixedDeadline puts the weekend outlook at $30M+, while Variety projects a $30 million to $35 million debut and the No. 1 spot, which would be Anne Hathaway's third chart-topper after The Odyssey and The Devil Wears Prada 2. MixedPreviews were below the $7M of Hoover's It Ends With Us (a $50M opening) and above the $1.9M of Reminders of Him earlier this year, which opened to $17.9M per Deadline; Variety puts that opening at $17 million.

LeftVariety says Verity was produced for $40 million and should rank second among Hoover adaptations, ahead of Reminders of Him and Regretting You, which opened with $13.6 million. CentreDeadline notes that critics have been unkind to Verity but were similarly unkind to earlier Hoover adaptations, citing Rotten Tomatoes scores of 55% for It Ends With Us, 56% for Reminders of Him and 29% for Regretting You. MixedTom Cruise's Digger, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, made $1.2 million in previews; Deadline headlined it as $1M+.

MixedVariety projects a $12 million to $15 million opening, while Deadline says it will be lucky to open above $10M in North America. LeftDigger's budget is put at $125 million, reportedly rising to more than $160 million; Variety calls it likely one of the year's biggest bombs, and says Cruise and the team have leaned into the bad reviews and urged viewers to see it themselves. CentreDeadline compares Digger's previews with One Battle After Another's $3.1M (a $22M opening) and Megalopolis's $770K, and notes word that Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy will not move to the combined Paramount Warner Bros.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split.

Left1 outlet

Framing
Variety leads with Verity as the Hoover hit and treats Digger as a likely bomb, with plot and cast detail.
Emphasis
Verity's budget, chart-topping prospects, Hathaway's No. 1 record, and Digger's budget and bad reviews.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention the Warner Bros. executive news or critics' scores.
Charged language
“biggest box office bombs”“staggering $125 million budget”
For example
“expected to be one of this year’s biggest box office bombs” — Variety

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Deadline offers a trade-style numbers breakdown, comparing previews with earlier Hoover films and other flops, with a blunt tone on Digger.
Emphasis
Preview comparisons, critic scores and the Warner Bros. leadership news.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not give Verity's budget or plot.
Charged language
“soft everywhere”“Critics have no patience for Verity”“Um, the cash so far”
For example
“was soft everywhere with $1.2M previews” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.