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Box Office: ‘Verity’ To Seduce $55M+ WW, Tom Cruise ‘Digger’ Not Good

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Well, on the bright side of things, the autumn box office should continue at a great hum this weekend thanks to Amazon MGM Studio’s feature take of Colleen Hoover thriller, Verity, starring Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway, and Josh Hartnett. The domestic outlook is $30M+ at 3,510 theaters with the definite potential to over perform given how there’s walk-up business from Hoover-philes. The Michael Showalter directed thriller has a shot at $20M-$25M in 70 offshore territories sans Japan, South Korea Taiwan, Vietnam and CIS in this suite, for a $50M-$55M+ global start. Previews stateside start today on Verity at 2PM.

Meanwhile, light candles and say prayers for Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Tom Cruise starring, Alejandro Iñárritu directed Digger. Many are bracing for what could be one of Tom Cruise’s lowest wide openings at the box office during the millennium. Warners believes the movie can get to $12M-$15M at 3,300 theaters, others believe it’s lucky to break $10M at the domestic box office. Seventy-three foreign territories except Poland, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand (no China release) are expected to deliver another $15M-$20M abroad at 14,000+ screens, for a $35M WW global start at the high-end for the reported net $125M production (rumors out there is that the movie was much higher between $140M-$150M). Unlike the Dune franchise, Legendary didn’t co-finance this, but they did produce Digger. Previews start at 2PM in North America with tickets on sale in Imax, Dolby Cinema, VistaVision, PLFs, and motion seats.

Digger was shot at Leavesden with UK tax credits. Global marketing spend is approaching $100M. To say that the movie is divisive is an understatement with some critics hailing the brilliance of the polemic movie in its Doctor Strangelove satire while others were simply impatient while watching it. Current Rotten Tomatoes critical score is 52% and know that Cruise has had lower ratings (2017’s The Mummy was 15% Rotten with reviewers; 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back was 37% Rotten). Warners in a last minute marketing salvo is leaning into selling the controversy of the film with a final spot, this tweet having clocked 2.2 million views:

Back in his heyday as a star, Cruise posted low openings at the domestic box office in the single digit range (i.e. classic Rain Man opened to $7M in 1988 at 1,248 theaters and powered to $172.8M domestic), but those were very different distribution days when movies opened small and played long. Post 2000, some of Cruise’s lowest North American opening have included the 2007 drama Lions for Lambs ($6.7M, $35M production cost), 2012’s Rock of Ages ($14.4M, $75M production cost) and Jack Reacher ($15.2M, $60M production cost, but it spawned a Prime series TV franchise) and 2017’s American Made ($16.7M, $60M net production). However, on a seismic bomb level for the leading man, 2017’s The Mummy at $31.6M domestic opening/$172.6M worldwide wasn’t enough to save that $195M production which finaled at $80.2M domestic, $409.2M WW). The arguments made for his lofty costing Mission: Impossible movies, particularly the last two, is that they’re bound to profit in their nth cycle (You gotta look at the overall library, not just the individual movie has been the Paramount defense).

What positive things are there to say about Digger at this point? Domestic tracking in first choice climbed from a 2 since landing on tracking to a 7 which is the same as Cruise’s American Made ($16.7M opening, $60M production cost) and higher than Marty Supreme ($17.7M opening). Who wants to see this movie? Best first choice right now is men over 25, which is above American Made and Marty Supreme‘s tracking figures.

Back to Verity. We hear U.S./Canada presales are behind It Ends With Us ($50M opening, $148.5M domestic, $351.4M WW), but that’s not a bad thing. That movie was Hoover’s most popular novel, and it opened when Blake Lively was in the mega-ether of Deadpool & Wolverine. Not to mention female audiences were intrigued by the percolating crisis between the actress and her co-star/directorJustin Baldoni (fans were already deconstructing bad blood between them from red carpet photos alone). Hollywood went on a buying spree, snapping up Hoover tomes for the big screen, but two of them, Paramount’s Regretting You ($13.6M opening, $48.8M domestic, $90.4M WW) and Reminders of Him ($17.9M opening, $48.5M domestic, $89.2M WW) were alright in regards to their budgets, not box office sensations. Verity is arguably Hoover’s second-most popular novel after It Ends With Us.

Like-for-like comps for Verity abroad are above The Drama ($9.4M international opening), lit thriller Where the Crawdads Sing ($12M), and Reminders of Him ($10M, but that was in 56 territories). The lit adaptation should do well in Europe, specifically Scandinavia, however, we’re hearing advance ticket sales are really hot in Brazil, where Verity is above It Ends With Us. In like-for-likes, It Ends With Us had a $45.6M opening.

Meanwhile, don’t count out A24’s Primetime. Many thought this was would be front-loaded but the movie has posted solid weekdays now up to a running total of $23.8M. The Robert Pattinson directed and Lance Oppenheimer movie could hold to better than -60%. Older adults will continue to go to Paramount’s Brad Pitt green beret survival movie, The Heart of the Beast, with a second weekend dip of around -40% U.S./Canada cume currently is $26M. Last weekend’s Avengers Endgame: Encore looks to decline around -60% in its second weekend. The reissue with extra Avengers: Doomsday footage stands at $31.1M.

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SCAD Film Festival TV Sidebar Spotlights ‘Furious,’ ‘VisionQuest’, More

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The SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s third annual TV Sidebar is set, with four TV program screenings followed by award presentations and conversations with the stars of the series.

The fest, which runs October 24-31 in Savannah, GA will spotlight episodes of The Good Daughter, VisionQuest, Furious and The Lowdown.

Based on Karin Slaughter’s bestselling novel, The Good Daughter stars Meghann Fahy and Rose Byrne. Fahy will receive the Spotlight in Television Award on October 24 at a screening of one of the show’s episodes. In The Good Daughter, Fahy stars as Charlotte “Charlie” Quinn alongside Byrne as Samantha “Sam” Quinn. Written and executive produced by Slaughter and directed by Steph Green, the limited series premieres November 12 on Peacock.

Paul Bettany will receive the Virtuoso Award on October 26 at a screening of Marvel Television’s VisionQuest. The Disney+ series continues the story of Vision following the events of WandaVision, with Bettany returning to the role he has portrayed across the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor’s latest superhero installment will close out the trilogy that began with WandaVision, for which he received an Emmy nomination, and Agatha All Along.

Emmy Rossum will receive the Outstanding Achievement in Television Award on October 28 at a screening of the Hulu Original drama series Furious. Created, written and executive produced by Elizabeth Meriwether, the thriller stars Rossum as FBI agent Alice Black, who is on the hunt for a mysterious and calculating female serial killer (Lola Petticrew). The series, on which Rossum serves as an EP, also stars Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Scoot McNairy.

RELATED: ‘The Lowdown’ Gets Season 2 Release Date At FX; First Photos Of Tommy Lee Jones & Betty Gilpin

Ethan Hawke and Sterlin Harjo will receive the Outstanding Collaboration in Television Award on October 30 at a screening of their FX and Hulu series The Lowdown. Created, executive produced, written and directed by Harjo, the Tulsa-set noir series stars Hawke as Lee Raybon, a self-proclaimed “truthstorian” and citizen journalist whose relentless pursuit of the truth continually lands him in trouble.

In addition, Deadline during the fest will present “Below the Line: Scoring for the Screen with the Alliance for Women Film Composers,” a behind-the-scenes look at how today’s most innovative voices are redefining the sound of cinema. The conversation will feature members of the Alliance for Women Film Composers discuss their creative process, the challenges and triumphs of the industry, and the role composers play in bringing depth and resonance to film and television.

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Erik Bright Joins PMK Entertainment As EVP Content & Strategic Communications

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Veteran comms executive Erik Bright has joined PMK Entertainment as Executive Vice President, Content and Strategic Communications.

Based in Los Angeles, Bright will oversee PMK’s bi-coastal content publicity team, which handles film and TV campaigns. The company said he will also play a key leadership role in the firm’s global strategic communications practice.

For the last 16 years, Bright has served as President and CEO of the boutique agency he founded, Prodigy Public Relations. Bright will segue his Prodigy PR content and corporate business portfolio into PMK Entertainment and report to PMK’s President of Strategic Communications, Dennis Dembia.

Over his career, Bright has worked on multiple Oscar-winning and nominated titles, including Crash, Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine, Margin Call, and Hamnet. He is also a regular on the domestic and international festival circuit. Before founding Prodigy, Bright was a Partner and Vice President at Insignia PR and Media Strategies, where he serviced the firm’s corporate and film clients. He began his career at Eddie Michaels & Associates, supporting campaigns for talent including Drew Barrymore, Anjelica Huston, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Noah Wyle.

PMK Entertainment CEO Cindi Berger said: “Erik brings an exceptional combination of creative vision, deep industry relationships, and strategic communications expertise to PMK. His track record of building a successful agency and delivering impactful campaigns makes him a tremendous addition to our leadership team.”

Dembia added: “I’ve known Erik for many years and respect his resolute commitment to delivering for clients and the deep industry relationships he’s forged. Wearing multiple hats, Erik has orchestrated incredible campaigns launching many films and TV series in innovative fashions, while also operating as one of the savviest corporate media strategists in the space. As we continue layering influence within PMK, having experienced, forward-thinking leaders like Erik creates leverageable strategic efficiencies. His leadership will be vital as we focus on unlocking new opportunities for our clients across the entertainment, media, and sports ecosystem.”

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Chase Infiniti To Star In ‘Portrait Of God’ Horror Movie For Lionsgate

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Lionsgate has acquired Portrait of God, a horror flick from emerging genre filmmaker Dylan Clark based on his viral short of the same name. With One Battle After Another breakout Chase Infiniti now aboard to star, the project is greenlighted for production.

Portrait comes to Lionsgate after being put in turnaround by Universal, which acquired a spec from Clark in a competitive situation in December 2025, as we first reported. The Lionsgate acquisition is natural, given that they’ve set Clark to make his big studio filmmaking debut with a reimagining of 1999 horror classic The Blair Witch Project, dated for September 24, 202

Portrait of God will mark the first-ever collaboration of producers Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele, two of the biggest names in horror, with Clark directing from a script co-written with Joe Russo (The Inheritance). Involved with the project since it was at Universal, Raimi is presently set to direct an adaptation of the 1978 horror film Magic for Lionsgate as his next project.

While the studio is keeping the plot of the feature take under wraps, Clark’s short revolves around a religious young woman who discovers the disquieting answer to the question, “What does God look like?” Opening with a quote from the Old Testament — “No man shall see Me and live” — it finds Mia sitting in the dark, practicing a slide presentation about a work of art dubbed “Portrait of God.” Some who view the painting perceive it as completely black, she says, while others report seeing a person in the darkness — one who’s been described time and again, in consistent detail.

Minimalistic yet menacing, the short offers a counterpoint to the idea of God as a benevolent entity. It’s accrued over 10 million views on YouTube since its August 2022 debut.

Raimi and Rob Tapert will produce through their Ghost House shingle, as will Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld through their Monkeypaw Productions, and Joe Russo (The Inheritance). Romel Adam and Jose Cañas will oversee for Ghost House. On behalf of Monkeypaw, Chris Rosati is exec producing through his first-look deal at shingle NAT20 Films. Scott O’Brien will oversee the project for Lionsgate, which had Dan Freedman negotiated deals on its behalf.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson commented, “We’re delighted to deepen our creative partnership with Dylan Clark, whose remarkable talent and distinctive perspective make him one of the most exciting emerging voices in horror. With Sam and Jordan, two of the genre’s most influential producers, the extraordinary Chase Infiniti starring, and Dylan at the helm, this is an exceptional creative team. We believe they have all the ingredients for a film that is haunting, thought-provoking, and scary as hell.”

Like Obsession‘s Curry Barker and Backrooms‘ Kane Parsons, Clark is a young genre filmmaker who came to the industry’s attention after gaining a large following in the YouTube horror space. He stated, “With Blair Witch, I’m experiencing firsthand the trust Lionsgate places in its filmmakers, and I couldn’t be happier that Portrait of God has found a home there as well. I’m also thrilled to welcome Chase Infiniti to our team. She blew me away in One Battle After Another and is one of the most exciting young actors working today.”

Infiniti earned noms at the Actor Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards for her breakout role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. She came to the film after appearing in a major role opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Ruth Negga in Apple’s hit thriller series Presumed Innocent. Most recently, she’s been seen leading The Testaments, Hulu’s follow-up to hit Margaret Atwood adaptation The Handmaid’s Tale, earning her first Emmy nomination for her work on Season 1. With work on the second season underway, Infiniti will also be seen coming up in The Julia Set, an indie coming-of-age drama from Niki Byrne coming off its premiere at TIFF. She is repped by Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

Clark is repped by UTA, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis; Russo by Fictional Entity, Untitled, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.

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