Image Source: The New York Times
The Colleen Hoover Verity movie is off to a strong start at the North American box office, with Amazon MGM Studios’ psychological thriller projected to collect approximately $32 million during its opening weekend. The result puts the Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway-led adaptation ahead of expectations and gives the fall movie season a major boost.
According to Deadline, Verity earned an estimated $14.5 million on Friday, including $4.5 million from previews. The film is playing at approximately 3,510 theaters and could finish above the current $32 million projection if it maintains its momentum through the weekend.
Colleen Hoover Verity Movie Delivers a Powerful Opening
The box office performance is particularly notable because critics have been unenthusiastic about the film. However, Hoover adaptations have repeatedly demonstrated that audience interest can outweigh critical reception, especially among the author’s large and highly engaged readership.
The film follows the story of Verity Crawford, a successful writer whose unfinished manuscripts and disturbing secrets become the focus of a tense investigation. Dakota Johnson stars alongside Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett in the R-rated thriller, which combines psychological suspense, family drama and dark literary mystery.
Verity began previews at 2 p.m. Thursday, with the reported total also including early-access screenings. Its $4.5 million preview figure falls below the $7 million recorded by Hoover’s It Ends with Us, which opened to approximately $50 million in 2024. However, it is comfortably ahead of the $1.9 million preview total for Reminders of Him, released earlier this year.
Why Audience Demand Is Driving the Thriller
Hoover’s previous screen adaptations have shown a clear difference between critical reviews and audience response. It Ends with Us received a 55% Rotten rating from critics but earned an 87% audience score. Reminders of Him also performed better with viewers than with critics, while Regretting You recorded a 29% critics score and an 83% audience score.
That pattern may be repeating with the Colleen Hoover Verity movie. Although early reviews have been harsh, the film benefits from strong awareness of the source novel, recognizable stars and a built-in audience looking for a suspenseful weekend release.
Tom Cruise’s Digger Faces a Difficult Debut
While Verity is exceeding expectations, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger is heading in the opposite direction. The Tom Cruise-led satire is estimated to open with approximately $10 million from 3,321 theaters, placing it in fourth position for the weekend.
Including $1.2 million from previews, the film is expected to earn around $4 million on Friday. That would make Digger Cruise’s lowest domestic opening in 19 years. The last comparable result came in 2007, when Lions for Lambs opened to $6.7 million.
The contrast is striking because Digger carries a reported production budget of between $125 million and more than $160 million. The R-rated film also comes from Oscar-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu and features a cast that includes Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed and Emma D’Arcy.
Resident Evil and The Heart of the Beast Hold Strong
Sony’s Resident Evil is projected to take second place in its third weekend with approximately $11.5 million. That would represent a decline of about 50% and bring its domestic running total to roughly $123.8 million by Sunday.
Paramount’s The Heart of the Beast, starring Brad Pitt, is also showing resilience. The survival film is expected to earn $10.3 million in its second weekend, down approximately 49%, for a projected 10-day total of $37.6 million.
A24’s Primetime is expected to collect around $7.6 million in its second weekend, while Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island could add $6.5 million. Disney and Marvel’s Avengers Endgame: Encore is estimated at $6 million in its second frame after a heavily front-loaded re-release launch.
What the Verity Box Office Result Means
The opening of the Colleen Hoover Verity movie reinforces the commercial strength of recognizable literary properties. It also suggests that strong fan communities can create major theatrical demand even when professional reviews are mixed.
For Amazon MGM Studios, the result gives the company a valuable fall hit led by a female-focused audience. For the wider industry, it provides another reminder that box office success is increasingly shaped by fan loyalty, social conversation and word of mouth—not reviews alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Colleen Hoover Verity movie expected to make?
The film is projected to open with approximately $32 million domestically, although the final weekend total could be higher if it performs strongly on Saturday and Sunday.
Who stars in Verity?
The cast includes Dakota Johnson, Anne Hathaway and Josh Hartnett. The film is based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling suspense novel.
How did Verity perform in previews?
Verity earned approximately $4.5 million from previews, including early-access screenings that began Thursday afternoon.
What happened to Tom Cruise’s Digger?
Digger is projected to open with around $10 million, which would be Tom Cruise’s lowest domestic opening in 19 years.
Why is Verity performing well despite weak reviews?
The film benefits from Colleen Hoover’s large readership, strong audience awareness and the popularity of psychological thrillers featuring established stars.
