Verity box office: Anne Hathaway thriller opens No. 1 with $32.6M

The Colleen Hoover adaptation co-starring Dakota Johnson made $32.6 million in North America and $62.6 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, while Tom Cruise’s Digger opened to about $8 million.

Verity won the weekend box office, and it made back its budget worldwide in three days.

The Colleen Hoover thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson opened to $32,618,776 in North America over Oct. 2 to 4, according to Monday’s final numbers. That was enough for No. 1 by a wide margin.

Overseas added about $30 million from 70 markets, for a global start of roughly $62.6 million. The movie cost $40 million to make.

So Verity is already at more than one and a half times its budget. On opening weekend.

Who went to see Verity?

Mostly women, and mostly younger ones. Exit polling cited by Boxoffice Pro put the audience at 78 percent female, with 38 percent between 25 and 34.

That’s the Colleen Hoover crowd, and it showed up on schedule. The C+ CinemaScore says not everyone loved what they saw, but they bought the tickets first.

The movie played in 3,510 theaters and averaged about $9,293 per location. Thursday previews alone brought in $4.5 million.

Catch the trailer below:

How does Verity compare to It Ends With Us?

It’s the second-best opening for a Hoover movie. It Ends With Us still holds the top spot with $50 million in 2024, so Verity landed at roughly 65 percent of that.

It blew past this year’s earlier Hoover adaptation, though. Reminders of Him opened to $17.97 million, and Verity nearly doubled it.

It also landed right next to another big book adaptation. Wuthering Heights opened to $32.8 million earlier this year, about $200,000 more.

What is Verity about?

It’s based on Hoover’s 2018 novel of the same name, a twisty psychological thriller.

Johnson plays Lowen Ashleigh, a struggling writer hired to finish the bestselling book series of Verity Crawford, played by Hathaway, after Verity is badly hurt. Lowen moves into the Crawford house and starts finding things she was never meant to read. Josh Hartnett plays Verity’s husband, Jeremy.

Michael Showalter directed. The movie was supposed to come out May 15, then moved to October, which looks like a good call now.

Anne Hathaway’s third No. 1 movie of 2026

Hathaway is having a year. Variety notes Verity is her third No. 1 opening of 2026, following this summer’s hits, including The Devil Wears Prada 2.

That one came from Disney’s 20th Century Studios and has made $220.55 million in North America. She also produced Verity, so this win is partly hers on paper too.

Tom Cruise’s Digger bombs at the box office

The other big opening went the other way. Tom Cruise‘s Digger, from Warner Bros. and director Alejandro G. Inarritu, opened to about $8 million in North America and $20 million worldwide.

Deadline called it Cruise’s lowest opening in 19 years. Reports put its budget well north of $125 million.

It also landed days before Warner Bros. becomes part of Skydance Corp. That merger is set to close Tuesday, Oct. 6.

The rest of the weekend box office top 10

Resident Evil held second with about $12.5 million in its third weekend, pushing it to roughly $124.9 million. Heart of the Beast was third with $11 million.

Disney’s Avengers: Endgame Encore re-release came in seventh with about $4.4 million, down 83 percent from the weekend before. It still did its job, since that re-release pushed Endgame past Avatar as the highest-grossing movie ever.

DreamWorks’ Forgotten Island made $7.2 million in its second weekend, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day added $2.45 million in its 10th, right before it hits digital on Tuesday.

Next weekend is the real test for Verity, and that C+ CinemaScore is the number to keep an eye on.

Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.

Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

Hat Tips:

• The Numbers (Oct. 5, 2026), Verity’s final weekend gross and the weekend top 10

• Boxoffice Pro (Oct. 4, 2026), audience breakdown, previews, per-theater average, international total and comparisons to It Ends With Us, Reminders of Him and Wuthering Heights

• Deadline (Oct. 4, 2026), Digger as Tom Cruise’s lowest opening in 19 years

• Variety (Oct. 4, 2026), Verity as Anne Hathaway’s third No. 1 opening of 2026

• KTVZ (Oct. 4, 2026), the Oct. 6 closing date for Skydance Corp.

• Wikipedia (2026), Verity’s budget, cast, director and original release date

AI Disclosure: All articles are assigned, edited and reviewed by an experienced human editor before posting. Like most modern newsrooms, WebReef Media uses a variety of AI tools to help with accuracy and efficiency. Ways AI may be used in article creation include research, grammar, fact-checking and ideation, as well as occasional AI generated or enhanced thumbnails or graphics. No articles are generated or posted without human oversight or involvement.