Hollywood Defends Tom Cruise's 'Digger' After Box Office Bomb — SkimNews
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- "Digger" opened to a disastrous $8 million domestically in its first week, making it one of the biggest studio bombs in movie history, with a $20 million global start against a $260–280 million combined production ($160–180M) and marketing ($100M) budget.
- Guillermo del Toro wrote on X: "Love the arts. Fuck the charts," bluntly championing the film as it headed toward at least $150–200 million in theatrical losses.
- Anne Hathaway called "Digger" a "brilliant movie" on Letterboxd, describing it as "smart and trippy and aggressive and funny and ambitious" and awarding it 10/10.
- Mandy Patinkin was even more effusive, calling "Digger" "one of the greatest pieces of film I have ever seen in my entire life" and urging audiences to "run, don't walk" to see it.
- Jane Fonda praised Cruise's "courage" for taking on the role, noting the film "finds an original and, yes, risky way to wake us up about the climate crisis."
- Tom Cruise stars in the film — directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu — as Digger Rockwell, an oil tycoon confronting the end of the world after an Antarctic rig malfunction sends ice caps toward Europe; it marks Cruise's first non-action role in nearly a decade.
- Reviews for "Digger" were sharply divided, with some hailing it as a masterpiece and others panning it as an "insufferable misfire," while Cruise himself thanked fans on social media during opening weekend, calling the experience "truly unforgettable."
Why it matters: The film would need $350 million worldwide just to break even — a figure now unreachable after a $20 million global opening — putting "Digger" on track for $150–200 million in losses and marking a stark reminder that even A-list star power and prestige director talent (Iñárritu) cannot guarantee returns on original, climate-themed filmmaking in a franchise-driven market.
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