Nicolas Cage's Malibu Home: Dramatic Photos Show Sinkhole's Progress

The sinkhole outside Nicolas Cage's coastal home looks way worse than before ... though it seems to be a case of the situation having to get worse before improving.

Check out the dramatic new pics shot outside the actor's Malibu home Sunday ... which show his driveway's completely gone ... leaving no path to the garage or front door.

The massive hole used to be confined to the front of Nic's bad ... but now the gap is wrapping around the side of the property ... which is also covered in scaffolding.

Construction workers have brought out large machines and cordoned off the area with orange netting ... and it appears they've actually been digging into the ground in order to fix the issue.

So while the hole is bigger, it's likely at a more stable place than it was before ... seemingly counterintuitive -- but ya gotta break eggs to make an omelet!

We shared pics of Nic's house earlier this month ... after the City of Malibu declared the sinkhole an emergency.