Tom Cruise isn’t backing down on Digger despite weak box office start: ‘So proud of what we created'
The divisive eco-satire earned $8M on its first weekend
Iñárritu's eco-satire has split critics down the middle and stumbled at the box office, yet its leading man is cheering it on.
Ask ten people what they thought of Digger and you're likely to get ten very different answers. Alejandro G. Iñárritu's new film, with Tom Cruise as a self-obsessed oil magnate who sets off an environmental catastrophe and then casts himself as humanity's saviour, has landed squarely in divisive territory. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 50% rating, which means critics are evenly split.
Supporters point to the cast. Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman and Sandra Hüller have all been singled out for strong work. Detractors are less forgiving of the film as a whole, saying its tone and storytelling leave viewers puzzled and that the project never quite comes together.
Audiences stayed away
Whatever the critical verdict, cinemagoers in North America largely passed on it. Despite a wide rollout in about 3,300 locations by Warner Bros., Digger brought in only $8 million in its debut weekend and finished fifth overall.
That figure is uncomfortable on several fronts:
The budget: the film reportedly cost $125 million to make, and industry estimates suggest it needs close to $300 million worldwide to turn a profit.
Cruise's track record: no film led by the star has opened this low since Lions for Lambs in 2007. That modestly budgeted Robert Redford drama eventually broke even. Digger faces a far bigger gap.
The competition: Verity, a thriller led by Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, arrived the same day and earned $32.6 million, roughly four times as much.
The rest of the top five was rounded out by Resident Evil ($12.5 million), Heart of the Beast ($11 million) and Primetime ($8 million).
Cruise isn't flinching
If the weak opening has rattled Cruise, he isn't showing it. Over the weekend he went to Instagram with a set of photos from production and a warm message to everyone involved. He described making the film as a privilege, credited the team's commitment and spirit, and made clear he remains proud of the finished product. The figures didn't come up.
Why this one matters to him
Digger is a deliberate step away from the stunt-heavy blockbusters that have defined Cruise since the first Mission: Impossible. It harks back to his earlier collaborations with ambitious auteurs, the era of Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July and Magnolia, when he was as likely to chase a challenging role as a box office hit.
Fans who prefer him behind the wheel won't be waiting long, though. Days of Thunder 2 is lined up to start filming soon.
