It seems the divided reaction to Tom Cruise’s new movie Digger hasn’t quite been enough to pique cinemagoers’ curiosity to check out for themselves.
The Mission: Impossible actor takes a big step away from the action genre for his latest film, in which he dons a hefty amount of prosthetics to transform himself into Digger Rockwell, a fictitious oil billionaire responsible for destroying – and, potentially, saving – the planet.
Ahead of its release, Digger divided opinion right down the middle, with strong critiques on both sides.
In a four-star take, the BBC hailed the movie’s “limitless, daredevil ambition”, while The Telegraph gave Digger the same score for its “beauty, daring and extravagance”.
At the other end of the spectrum, The Times awarded it just one star, calling the film “exhausting”, while it earned two from The Guardian and The Independent, and Time branded it “aggressively unfunny” considering it was marketed as a dark comedy.
In fact, a recent ad campaign for the movie even poked fun at its polarised reception, encouraging film fans to “decide for yourself”.
Unfortunately, though, this seemingly hasn’t been the case.
Since it opened on Friday, it was reported that Digger made $8 million (around £6 million) domestically in its opening weekend.
Considering its reported budget of between $160 million and $180 million (around £121 million and £136 million), several outlets have said that this not only makes Digger the biggest box office bomb of 2026, but on course to be among the biggest in cinema history.
Despite this, Tom has maintained that he stands by the movie.
On release day, he wrote on social media: “Digger is officially in theatres and I am so honoured 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.”
Digger is in cinemas now.
