The actor has defended his new satirical drama Digger after it opened to poor reviews and weak box office takings, with industry analysts projecting the Alejandro G. Iñárritu-directed film could lose the studio as much as $150 million.
Tom Cruise has defended his new film Digger, insisting he remains “so proud” of the work despite a disappointing opening weekend and a largely negative critical reception. The 64-year-old actor took to Instagram the day after the satirical black comedy’s soft opening on Friday, 2 October, thanking the cast and crew he worked alongside on the project, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu. The film, which reportedly cost upwards of $125 million to make, is now facing projections of a loss that could reach as much as $150 million, though this figure remains a projection rather than a confirmed final result, with the outcome ultimately depending on the film’s wider theatrical run, distribution arrangements, marketing costs and later streaming revenue.
Cruise’s message to cast and crew
In his Instagram post, which included behind-the-scenes photographs from the set, Cruise wrote: “I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists. Thank you to the entire cast and crew for your dedication, hard work, and joy. The experience was truly unforgettable and I’m so proud of what we created.”
A weak opening at the box office
According to Deadline, Digger opened with $8 million on its first day in cinemas, a figure significantly behind Verity, the Anne Hathaway-led adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, which opened with $33 million over the same weekend. Industry estimates for Digger’s full opening weekend have varied: World of Reel reported the film may open with less than $10 million, while Box Office Theory offered a somewhat stronger projection of between $16 million and $26 million. Should the lower estimates prove accurate, Digger could represent the weakest opening of Cruise’s career in nearly two decades, with his last significant box office disappointment coming with 2007’s Lions for Lambs.
About the film
Digger was directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the filmmaker behind Birdman, The Revenant, Babel and 21 Grams, and marks his first collaboration with Cruise, a pairing that had been considered one of the film’s major selling points ahead of release. Iñárritu co-wrote the screenplay alongside Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr and Sabina Berman, with Iñárritu, Giacobone and Dinelaris having previously worked together on Birdman.
In the film, Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an eccentric billionaire oil tycoon who races to contain a catastrophic ecological disaster of his own making. The role marks a significant departure for Cruise, who underwent extensive physical transformation for the part, using prosthetics, a wig and heavy makeup to appear largely unrecognisable on screen. John Goodman co-stars as the authoritarian President of the United States in what has been described as a politically charged satire addressing climate issues and corporate greed. At 128 minutes, the film is considerably longer and more tonally complex than the event-driven action films, such as Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, that have defined much of Cruise’s recent commercial success.
Mixed critical reception
Digger has received a C+ rating from CinemaScore, which measures audience reaction rather than critical opinion, suggesting the muted response is not confined to professional reviewers. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a “rotten” rating of 51 per cent, making it Cruise’s worst-reviewed film since 2017’s The Mummy. It is worth noting that Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer reflects the proportion of critics giving a positive review, rather than the percentage of audiences who disliked the film.
Reviews have been sharply divided. The Boston Globe described Digger as a “turgid, unfunny, and borderline unwatchable 128 minute mess,” while Den of Geek wrote that the film “forgets the statement must still work as anything more than a self-flagellating valediction from a movie star.” Other outlets were considerably more positive, with Collider praising Cruise’s “bizarre but brilliant performance.”
Guillermo del Toro defends the film
On the same day Cruise posted his tribute online, fellow filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, whose own 2017 film The Shape of Water won the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, came to Digger’s defence following criticism from some outlets, including suggestions it could be considered “the worst film” of Iñárritu’s career. Responding on X to an IGN headline that read: “The theater experience won’t change your mind on Digger, and the laughs that are there still will be when it hits HBO Max,” del Toro wrote: “Entirely Petty headline. Love it or not. And, yes, I do. The film delivers in scale, ambition and reach at a theatrical screen level. Daring, bold and Cinematically complex. Decidedly a Theatrical experience.” He went on to repost supportive comments from other X users, telling his more than two million followers to either “tune in or drop out.”
Del Toro’s intervention is notable given his own standing as an Oscar-winning director, with his comments framed around defending the film’s theatrical scale and ambition rather than simply praising Cruise’s individual performance, reflecting a broader split among critics over the film’s tone, screenplay and visual filmmaking.
