Tom Cruise Stands Firmly Behind ‘Digger’ Despite Its Disappointing Box Office Debut

Few movie stars have built a reputation for box office reliability quite like Tom Cruise. So when ‘Digger’, his bold satirical collaboration with Oscar-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, stumbled out of the gate, it quickly became one of the biggest industry stories of the weekend.

The numbers were rough. The dark comedy opened to just $8 million domestically, Cruise’s lowest debut since 2007’s ‘Lions for Lambs’, against a budget the studio puts at $125 million, though some reports place the figure at $160 million to $180 million, with an estimated $100 million more spent on marketing.

But the 64-year-old star isn’t distancing himself from the project. In a post shared on X and Instagram on Saturday, October 3, Cruise thanked the film’s cast and crew, saying he felt honored to have made ‘Digger’ alongside such talented artists and that he is very proud of what they created together.

Cruise paired the message with behind-the-scenes photos from the production. He thanked everyone involved for their dedication, hard work, and joy, describing the experience of making the film as unforgettable.

The post struck a notably upbeat tone given the circumstances. Rather than addressing the box office, Cruise kept the focus entirely on the people who made the movie with him. That approach isn’t new for the actor. In 2025, he publicly celebrated Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’, and IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond later revealed that Cruise had told him that when one movie succeeds, the whole industry benefits.

DIGGER is officially in theaters and I am so honored 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. 1/3

— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) October 3, 2026

‘Digger’ earned a C+ CinemaScore from opening-day audiences. According to Deadline, about 60% of ticket buyers were between 18 and 34, and more than 70% of the audience was male. Iñárritu has said he made the movie with Gen Z in mind. The film performed best on the coasts, with AMC Lincoln Square in New York delivering its strongest location.

Reviews have been sharply divided. Deadline’s Pete Hammond described it as unlike anything a major Hollywood studio has released in years, while predicting it could become one of the most divisive movies for mainstream audiences in a long time.

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Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil tycoon whose drilling dislodges an ice shelf from a glacier and triggers a global environmental catastrophe. The ensemble cast includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Emma D’Arcy and Sophie Wilde.

A new trailer for ‘DIGGER’ has been released. In theaters October 2. https://t.co/kTEeFZI14E

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 9, 2026

Iñárritu co-wrote the screenplay with Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris and Nicolás Giacobone. It marks the filmmaker’s first English-language feature since ‘The Revenant’. Cruise’s commitment to the role extended behind the scenes, too. He reportedly pushed to cut the makeup application time for his character from 6 hours to under an hour, working closely with the team to make it happen.

For Cruise, who has spent much of the past 2 decades as Ethan Hunt in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise, ‘Digger’ was a chance to reaffirm his range as an actor. While the box office hasn’t gone his way, his message makes it clear he has no regrets about taking the creative risk. Whether the film finds a second life with audiences over time remains to be seen. For now, Cruise is choosing to celebrate the work rather than the numbers.

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