'Verity' earns $4.5m in previews as 'Digger' trails with $1.2m

Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson's Verity has opened ahead of Tom Cruise's Digger at the domestic box office, earning $4.5 million from Thursday preview screenings.

The psychological thriller, based on Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel, is expected to open in around 3,500 cinemas across North America. Amazon MGM is projecting an opening weekend between $27 million and $30 million, while industry estimates have placed the film's debut in a wider range of $24 million to $40 million.

Verity follows Lowen Ashleigh, played by Johnson, a writer hired to complete a successful book series after its author, Verity Crawford, portrayed by Hathaway, is left incapacitated following an accident. Josh Hartnett also stars in the Michael Showalter-directed thriller.

Meanwhile, Digger has taken in $1.2 million from Thursday previews. The Warner Bros. film, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Cruise, is opening in roughly 3,300 cinemas.

Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an oil tycoon whose business practices contribute to an environmental catastrophe. The satirical film also features Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons.

Warner Bros. is currently projecting a $12 million to $15 million opening weekend for Digger, after earlier forecasts were significantly higher. Box Office Theory has estimated an even lower range of $7.5 million to $12.5 million.

The two films arrive in cinemas as the domestic box office enters October, with Verity targeting audiences familiar with Hoover's bestselling fiction while Digger marks Cruise's return to an original film and his first collaboration with Iñárritu.

Verity and Digger are both now playing in cinemas, with their full opening-weekend grosses expected to provide a clearer picture of their theatrical performances.