Tom Cruise's Digger on course to be biggest box office flop of all time

Digger is on track to lose $245 million (£185 million) during its run in cinemas.

As such, Tom Cruise and director Alejandro González Iñárritu's environmental satire will wind up as one of the biggest flops, not just of the year but potentially of all time, Variety reports.

The 2012 film John Carter, starring Taylor Kitsch, currently holds the record for the biggest box office loss in nominal terms, costing Disney an estimated $255 to $280 million (£193-211 million).

After Digger opened last weekend to just $20 million (£15 million) globally, distributor Warner Bros. was primed to lose between $150 million and $200 million (£113-151 million).

The studio is now bracing for an even larger write-down after ticket sales for the movie declined by 60 per cent in its second weekend, bringing its tally so far to $35.3 million (£26.8 million) globally.

That's despite the best efforts of Hollywood stars such as Anne Hathaway, Jane Fonda, Guillermo del Toro and Mandy Patinkin, who rushed to the defence of Digger and have been encouraging audiences to go see it.

"I loved this brilliant movie. It's smart and trippy and aggressive and funny and ambitious," Hathaway wrote on Letterboxd. "It's worth making the time. See and decide for yourself what you make of it. For me? 10/10."

Digger is expected to end its box office run with roughly $50 million (£38 million) globally. Variety reports that the movie needs $350 million (£264 million) to wash its face, although a Warner Bros. spokesperson has pushed back, insisting the film's break-even point is $300 million (£227 million).

The offbeat dark comedy starring Cruise as a wealthy oil tycoon was expected to be given an additional Oscar campaign of around $15 million (£11 million), but this will likely be scaled back given the film's unfavourable reception.