Tom Cruise has dedicated much of the last 15 years to action movie franchises. He has starred in four Mission: Impossible films, Top Gun: Maverick, two Jack Reacher movies, and the reboot of The Mummy, among other projects. This is why his upcoming 2026 film Digger is seen as a crucial title for him.

Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu directs the film, placing Cruise in a lead comedic role as a man trying to avert a catastrophe he caused. The first look at Digger suggests a significantly different role for the action star than what audiences have come to expect from him recently.

While the film may primarily serve as an awards contender for Cruise, the $125 million budget from Warner Bros. underscores their confidence in his ability to generate a substantial return. The 63-year-old actor has a history of hits throughout his career, but Digger‘s performance will be the first true test for him in nine years.

Will Digger Prove How Big a Box Office Draw Tom Cruise Really Is?

The significance of this is that Digger is Cruise’s first non-franchise film since 2017’s American Made. Doug Liman’s true story action crime film performed well at the box office, grossing $134 million worldwide, nearly tripling its reported $50 million budget.

Following that film, he made Mission: Impossible – Fallout in 2018 and spent years navigating the pandemic while working on Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

These four films were all box office successes, collectively grossing over $3 billion. Each surpassed $571 million, with both Fallout and Maverick setting records for Cruise’s highest-grossing films at their release times (Maverick still holds the record with its $1.4 billion gross).

However, after becoming so associated with these franchises, Digger will provide an opportunity to see if audiences will still follow Cruise to theaters when he is not portraying Ethan Hunt or Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. It is a completely original comedy/drama that depends on his stardom to attract viewers.

The pressure is now on him to perform and maintain his status as a genuine A-list movie star capable of supporting films across any genre, similar to Leonardo DiCaprio. He recently came off the success of One Battle After Another, which grossed $206 million. DiCaprio’s collaboration with Iñárritu, The Revenant, also earned $532 million back in 2015.

The latter would be an exceptional outcome for Digger, but it does not need to reach that level to validate Cruise’s status. A performance exceeding $200 million would likely be perceived as a success, even though it technically needs to generate about $312 million to be considered profitable for theatrical release. This would indicate a strong connection between the star and audiences and suggest he can frequently break away from the action blockbuster mold.

If it underperforms and finishes below $100 million, it will signal to studios and Tom Cruise that audiences truly desire more of the same: more Mission: Impossible, more Top Gun, more action, stunts, and intellectual property. This is why the box office results for Digger will be intriguing to observe once it releases in October.