Tom Cruise's Digger Flops at the Box Office but Finds Famous Defenders
Tom Cruise's new film has flopped at the box office — and found some famous defenders.
Digger, a satirical comedy written and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Cruise, opened over the Oct. 2 weekend to $8 million domestic, the United States and Canada, and $12 million internationally for a $20 million global start, according to Fortune. It then fell 60% in its second weekend to $3.2 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
That paper puts the possible loss for Warner Bros. at at least $150 million. The numbers are exact, dated and brutal. No spin changes them.
The reaction has split the conversation in Hollywood. Ben Affleck defended the film on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, calling it an ambitious, interesting movie made by talented people, according to Deadline.
Affleck went further. He described the negative reaction to Digger as "high-school bullying" and said if you punish movies that take risks, you get homogenised movies, according to TheWrap. He warned that celebrating its box-office failure could discourage risk-taking in Hollywood, according to IGN.
He is not alone. Musician Neil Young wrote on his website that Digger is "the best film I have ever seen" and encouraged people to watch it with an open mind, according to Paste Magazine. Actor Anne Hathaway praised the film on Letterboxd and rated it 10/10. Actor Mandy Patinkin called the Iñárritu-directed film an "instant classic" and one of the greatest pieces of film he had ever seen in his entire life.
Cruise has stayed upbeat in public. He said he had fun creating Digger together with Iñárritu.
What makes this stand out is the argument around it. Affleck criticised the behaviour of cheering a flop, saying it sends a message to studios and film-makers to play safe. For fans, this means two stories at once: a theatre run that has already faltered, and a longer debate about what kinds of films get made next.
