Tom Cruise’s latest film, Digger, has underperformed at the North American box office, hitting a new low for the actor’s career. With a production budget of approximately $160 million and a cumulative box office take of only about $15 million as of October—not to mention marketing and other expenses—estimates suggest the total loss could reach as high as $240 million. While the box office failure has invited mockery online, it has also prompted a growing number of Hollywood figures to speak out in defense of the film and its creators.
In a recent podcast interview, Ben Affleck expressed his bewilderment at the ridicule directed toward Digger. He pointed out that many people joining the chorus of mockery haven’t even seen the movie, noting, “It’s like high school bullying—you haven’t even watched it, yet you’re jumping on the bandwagon to mock Digger.”
Affleck argues that the intense focus on how much money a film loses could discourage the industry from taking risks. “If you punish those who are willing to take risks to make something different, guess what kind of movies you’ll end up with? A bunch of terrible, cookie-cutter films.” He emphasized that filmmaking inherently requires experimentation; even if a project fails to find an audience, the act of taking a risk still holds value. “Sometimes, if you don’t stick your neck out, you can’t attempt anything truly interesting—even if that means, at times, the result might look pretty bad.”
As Digger enters its second week of release, more figures from the film industry have come forward in its support. Musician Neil Young went so far as to call it “the best film I’ve ever seen,” suggesting that existing reviews fail to capture the work’s true essence. He urged audiences to avoid letting other critiques color their experience, stating, “Don’t read any reviews before watching Digger—forget everything you’ve read, including this piece.” Furthermore, he argued that the film should not be viewed merely as a “Tom Cruise movie,” but rather as a work that reflects contemporary politics and society. Neil Young noted that Bardo (referred to here as “The Diggers”) employs a variety of artfully crafted metaphors to reflect contemporary political and social phenomena. While it might strike audiences accustomed to mainstream commercial cinema as overly avant-garde, it is precisely this quality that gives the film its own distinct world and unique style.
Anne Hathaway, meanwhile, chose Bardo as the subject of her very first review upon joining the film-discussion platform Letterboxd. She praised the movie as “smart, stimulating, provocative, funny, and ambitious,” declaring it well worth one’s time and awarding it a perfect score of 10 out of 10. Jane Fonda also publicly commended the creative courage of director Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Tom Cruise, urging them: “Keep being brave!”
As for the box office figures, Tom Cruise himself emphasized that a film’s value should not be determined solely by its opening-weekend performance. Citing Blade Runner as an example, he pointed out that the film faced significant negative criticism upon its initial release, yet it has since become a classic of science fiction cinema—a work that has, in a sense, “transcended time.”