Nathan Fielder’s Elizabeth Holmes Doc Just Outgrossed Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ in a Matter of Days
The fall box office has delivered plenty of surprises, but few as striking as the race between ‘You Can See Everything’ and Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’. One is a nearly three-hour Elizabeth Holmes documentary from A24, while the other is an ambitious Alejandro G. Iñárritu satire starring one of Hollywood’s most reliable movie stars.
On paper, it shouldn’t be a contest. ‘Digger’ opened in 3,321 North American theaters with a production budget that ballooned from $125 million to between $160 million and $180 million, while the documentary reportedly cost under $7 million to make and less than $10 million to market.
Yet the numbers tell a very different story. According to MovieHub, ‘You Can See Everything’ has already surpassed ‘Digger’ at the domestic box office after just 4 days, earning around $18 million compared to the Cruise film’s $17 million.
The documentary got there remarkably fast. Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, it opened to $15 million from just 855 screens, with more than 2,000 sellout showings, and then topped Monday’s box office with $2.57 million.
That weekend debut ranks as the second-highest opening for a documentary ever. Its first Monday even outpaced Oppenheim’s other A24 release this fall, ‘Primetime’, which earned $1.7 million on its first Monday after an $18.8 million opening from 2,874 locations.
‘You Can See Everything’ has surpassed ‘Digger’ at the domestic box office after just 4 days. • You Can See Everything – $18M • Digger – $17M https://t.co/U7b0oyBJ24
— MovieHub (@moviehubnow) October 20, 2026
For Cruise, the story has been far less flattering. ‘Digger’ opened to just $8 million domestically, marking the lowest debut for a Cruise-led film in 19 years, since ‘Lions for Lambs’ earned $6.7 million in 2007.
The slide only continued from there. In its third weekend, the film dropped 71% to $920,000 from 786 theaters, bringing it to $17.2 million domestically and $41.7 million worldwide. The financial picture looks grim. Reports suggest ‘Digger’ could lose as much as $240 million to $250 million by the end of its run, even after post-theatrical revenue.
First trailer for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s ‘DIGGER’, starring Tom Cruise. The film follows the most powerful CEO in the world who must save the world from a disaster that he created. In theaters on October 2. https://t.co/kJFhfgcStB
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 13, 2026
‘Digger’ was always a risky bet. Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an aging oil magnate whose drilling triggers an ecological disaster, alongside Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Jesse Plemons.
The film marked a departure from the action franchises Cruise has dominated in recent years, recalling filmmaker-driven projects from earlier in his career like ‘Rain Man’ and ‘Magnolia’. Critics were split, with the movie hovering around 52% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Its struggles stand out against Cruise’s recent run of theatrical hits. ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ both proved how powerful a draw he remains in the right vehicle.
‘You Can See Everything’ has tapped into a very different kind of energy. Like other 2026 hits such as ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’, its ticket sales have been driven largely by younger audiences.
YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING, a documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, featuring Elizabeth Holmes. See for yourself only in theaters October 16. Select theaters on sale now at https://t.co/DZ1E68DQfQ, nationwide tickets available October 1. https://t.co/6jbp713LqR
— A24 (@A24) September 23, 2026
The film follows Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move in the 34 days before she’s sent to prison. Audiences have embraced it, awarding the documentary an A- CinemaScore.
The momentum is only building. ‘You Can See Everything’ expands nationwide on October 23, meaning the documentary is set to reach far more screens just as ‘Digger’ winds down its theatrical run.
It’s a rare moment where a modestly budgeted documentary has outpaced a major studio star vehicle. If its buzz holds, A24 could be looking at one of the year’s most remarkable box office stories.
Which film would you rather watch after their surprising box office showdown?
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