Anne Hathaway is poised to claim the top spot at the domestic box office again as “Verity” heads into its opening weekend with projections of $30 million to $35 million from 3,510 theaters.

That range is expected to put the Colleen Hoover adaptation comfortably ahead of the weekend’s other major newcomer, Tom Cruise and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s R-rated environmental satire “Digger.” The Warner Bros. release is tracking for a far more concerning $12 million to $15 million from 3,300 North American screens.

If “Verity” opens at No. 1, it would give Hathaway her third chart-topping debut of the year. She also starred in the summer blockbusters “The Devil Wears Prada 2” and “The Odyssey,” as well as this year’s psychodrama “Mother Mary” and science-fiction thriller “The End of Oak Street.”

Another Colleen Hoover adaptation reaches theaters

Hathaway appears in “Verity” alongside Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. Michael Showalter, whose credits include “The Big Sick,” directed the $40 million production for Amazon MGM.

The story follows famed writer Verity Crawford, who is badly injured in a car accident. Her husband subsequently hires a struggling author to finish the remaining installments in Verity’s popular book series.

Reviews have been mixed ahead of the film’s release. Critic Guy Lodge described the movie as “listless” and an “unintentionally funny tale.” Even so, current tracking places “Verity” well above its direct weekend competition.

The film continues Hollywood’s run of adaptations based on Hoover’s books. Sony released “It Ends With Us” in 2024, Paramount followed with “Regretting You” in 2025, and Universal brought “Reminders of Him” to theaters in 2026.

“It Ends With Us” remains the strongest performer of those three, opening to $50 million and ultimately collecting $350 million worldwide. “Reminders of Him” debuted with $17 million, while “Regretting You” began with $13.6 million. Should “Verity” reach its projected range, it would deliver the second-biggest opening among the four adaptations.

Hoover’s movies have generally been made with modest budgets, limiting the financial risk for their respective studios. For Amazon MGM, a solid “Verity” result would provide a lift after “Masters of the Universe” earned $113 million worldwide against a $200 million budget this summer.

The studio’s theatrical results have varied. Its first major success came in the spring with Ryan Gosling’s astronaut drama “Project Hail Mary,” which grossed $684 million globally. Amazon MGM also has two more films scheduled for later this year: “I Play Rocky,” a crowd-pleaser about the making of the 1976 Sylvester Stallone movie “Rocky,” and the heist thriller “How to Rob a Bank,” starring Nicholas Hoult and Pete Davidson.

“Digger” faces a costly opening

The outlook is considerably tougher for “Digger.” Cruise stars as a wealthy oil tycoon whose company causes a potential catastrophe, but negative reviews and word-of-mouth have weighed on its box-office prospects.

Warner Bros. has even incorporated the criticism into its marketing. A new advertisement urges audiences to “decide for yourself” after critics characterized the film as “unpleasant” and “baffling.”

The projected opening creates a serious financial challenge. “Digger” was initially greenlit for $125 million, but four knowledgeable sources say its budget climbed to between $160 million and $180 million after production ran over schedule. A Warner Bros. spokesperson disputes those higher figures.

Box-office experts say a film of this scale would need to open near $40 million to justify its price tag. Its expected $12 million to $15 million start falls well short of that benchmark and leaves it on course to become one of the year’s biggest theatrical disappointments.

The release also extends a difficult year for Warner Bros., which has already fielded misfires including “The Bride!” and “Supergirl.” That marks a sharp change from the studio’s 2025 run of commercial successes, which included “Sinners,” “A Minecraft Movie” and “Weapons.”

What Happens Next?

The weekend totals will determine whether “Verity” can meet the upper end of its projections and secure Hathaway’s third No. 1 opening of the year. For Warner Bros., the performance of “Digger” will arrive at an especially consequential moment, with Paramount’s acquisition of the studio set to close next week.