Del Toro defends Iñárritu's Digger as Cruise film opens to split reviews
Guillermo del Toro has thrown his weight behind Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Digger as the divisive Warner Bros. film opened in cinemas.
The R-rated black comedy, a comedy built around dark or serious subjects, stars Tom Cruise in the lead role and is directed by Iñárritu, according to Variety. It opened in theatres and IMAX across North America on 2 October, after an international rollout that began on 30 September 2026, according to the film's official site.
Del Toro made his support clear on X, where he posts as @RealGDT, ahead of the film's Friday release. Responding to one review, he wrote: "Entirely Petty headline," Variety reported.
He followed with a fuller defence of the cinema experience. "Love it or not. And yes, I do. The film delivers in scale, ambition and reach at a theatrical screen level," he wrote. "Daring, bold and cinematically complex. Decidedly a theatrical experience."
He kept going. Del Toro reposted several favourable notices from other writers, including one that praised Cruise's performance, Variety reported. Alongside one repost he wrote: "Funny, I go into the platform and without even scrolling down, these are popping at the top of my timeline... So... I will just keep posting them. Tune in or drop out—". In another repost he added: "Dig or Die – c'mon!"
Del Toro also placed the early response in film history. He compared the negative reviews for Digger to the poor notices received on release by The Big Lebowski, The King of Comedy and The Counselor, according to Variety.
That split is visible in the numbers. Digger stood at 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, the review-aggregation site, at the time of Variety's report on 3 October. Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman found the film felt like a comedy but failed to be funny.
The commercial stakes are high. Digger cost north of US$125 million to make, Variety reported. It took US$3.4 million domestically, domestic meaning the United States and Canada, on Friday, 2 October, and was estimated to earn US$7.5 million domestically across its opening weekend, according to Variety.
Cruise added his own note on Saturday. He wrote on X that he was "honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists," Variety reported.
What makes this stand out is the public nature of the rally. Directors do not often live-post rival reviews, good and bad, through opening weekend. For fans, this means the debate around Digger is playing out in real time, post by post, alongside the ticket sales.
