Warner Bros. turns split reaction into the sell for Cruise's Digger
Warner Bros. is selling Tom Cruise's new film Digger with its bad reviews attached.
The studio released a new advertisement that urges moviegoers to "decide for yourself", cutting negative and positive reactions together, according to Variety on 29 Sept.
The divide is the pitch. One still puts "Masterpiece" and "Unpleasant" side by side. The cut flashes between "Brilliant" and "Baffling", then between "Magnificent" and "Insufferable". It closes on the line "Same film, different truth."
Those words did not come from newspaper critics. They came from film influencers who saw the picture early and posted after the social embargo lifted on 22 Sept, the set time when early reactions are allowed to go public, according to Variety. Warner Bros. posted the ad about an hour before the full review embargo lifted and longer critiques could appear.
Digger stars Cruise as an oil tycoon whose drilling triggers a climate crisis. His character is named Digger Rockwell, according to Warner Bros. UK. The film is directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and billed as a comedy about an oil magnate facing an ecological disaster, with Cruise in a heavy transformation that leaves him hard to recognise, according to People.
The early critical response has been split. Digger held a 52% score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of the report, according to Variety. Variety critic Owen Gleiberman called the film "so full of itself" in his review. Vulture critic Bilge Ebiri called it "a torturous experience, sometimes purposefully so, often unintentionally so." IndieWire critic David Ehrlich called it a "surreal misfire" and gave it a C+ grade.
That split followed the first influencer reactions. The response was wide, with some calling the film "Brave" while others used "Baffling" and "Unpleasant", according to Variety on 22 Sept.
The stakes are high. Digger cost north of $125 million to make, according to Variety. It opens in theatres on 2 Oct.
What makes this stand out is the timing. Studios usually build ads around praise. Here Warner Bros. took criticism into the campaign before opening weekend and framed disagreement as the reason to buy a ticket.
