{"id":793728,"date":"2026-10-06T12:56:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/793728\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T12:56:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T12:56:14","slug":"hurt-tom-cruise-hits-back-at-movie-backlash-and-says-hes-proud-of-digger-despite-being-a-box-office-bomb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/793728\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurt Tom Cruise hits back at movie backlash and says he&#8217;s &#8220;proud&#8221; of Digger despite being a box office bomb"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"3\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Tom Cruise has said that he&#8217;s proud of his new movie Digger after it released to very mixed reviews, followed by a poor box office performance. <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"9\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The satirical black comedy, co-written and directed by Birdman&#8217;s Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, follows an ageing old baron who unleashes disaster upon the world, and uses it as an opportunity to paint himself as its saviour. Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, and Jesse Plemons also star.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"13\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Despite the talent behind it, the film has only made $20 million worldwide in its opening weekend, on the back of a reported $140-$180 million budget (not including marketing). That&#8217;s Cruise&#8217;s worst opening weekend since 2007&#8217;s Lions for Lambs.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"tom cruise, riz ahmed, digger trailer\" title=\"Tom Cruise, Riz Ahmed, Digger trailer\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2100\" height=\"1400\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791291371_570_4338f1ac-3d05-4595-a556-97b6c4fc3184.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1ddfba50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Warner Bros.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"18\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a29669\/uk-film-release-dates\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a29669\/uk-film-release-dates\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"UK film release dates\" data-node-id=\"18.2\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">UK film release dates<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"22\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Over the weekend, Cruise published an Instagram post that reads: &#8220;Digger is officially in theaters and I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"26\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">&#8220;Thank you to the entire cast and crew for your dedication, hard work, and joy. The experience was truly unforgettable and I&#8217;m so proud of what we created.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"31\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The critical reception is an almost perfectly-even split, currently sitting at 51% positive on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/digger_2026\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/digger_2026\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Rotten Tomatoes\" data-node-id=\"31.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Rotten Tomatoes<\/a> from 259 reviews.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"35\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The filmmaker, or at least the marketing team, knew that the movie was going to be divisive, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a73965102\/tom-cruise-digger-bad-reviews-teaser\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a73965102\/tom-cruise-digger-bad-reviews-teaser\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"teaser trailers have highlighted the negative reviews\" data-node-id=\"35.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">teaser trailers have highlighted the negative reviews<\/a> in addition to the positive ones.<\/p>\n<p><img draggable=\"true\" alt=\"tom cruise, digger trailer\" title=\"Tom Cruise, Digger trailer\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2100\" height=\"1400\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" style=\"color:transparent;width:100%;height:auto;\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791291373_347_a0f95e6c-732b-4f75-8aef-e81cc49c31e5.jpg\" class=\"css-0 e1ddfba50\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Warner Bros.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"40\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a74023306\/river-horror-film-release-date\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a74023306\/river-horror-film-release-date\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"The next Obsession? Near-perfect &quot;magnificent&quot; horror confirms 2027 release date\" data-node-id=\"40.0.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The next Obsession? Near-perfect &#8220;magnificent&#8221; horror confirms 2027 release date<\/a> <\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"44\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a73924133\/digger-review-tom-cruise\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/a73924133\/digger-review-tom-cruise\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Digital Spy&#039;s own three-star review\" data-node-id=\"44.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Digital Spy&#8217;s own three-star review<\/a>, we predicted that the film wouldn&#8217;t do that well.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"48\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">&#8220;Digger may ultimately prove too divisive to make much of an impact during the awards season, or even at the box office, but you can&#8217;t fault its ambition,&#8221; our review reads.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"52\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">&#8220;It&#8217;s flawed, for sure, yet with a committed Tom Cruise at its centre, it&#8217;s the kind of movie you should see to make up your own mind.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"56\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Digger is out now in cinemas.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"61\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">Visit our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/a70049607\/streaming-guide\/\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Streaming Guide\" data-node-id=\"61.1\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n<p data-journey-content=\"true\" data-node-id=\"65\" class=\"css-14bo8h1 emevuu60\">The new edition of Legends, a 100-page celebration of Dolly Parton&#8217;s life, is here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/special-editions-subscriptions\/living-legend-specials\" data-vars-ga-outbound-link=\"https:\/\/www.hearstmagazines.co.uk\/special-editions-subscriptions\/living-legend-specials\" data-vars-ga-ux-element=\"Hyperlink\" data-vars-ga-call-to-action=\"Buy Dolly in newsagents or online\" data-node-id=\"65.3\" class=\"body-link css-1gyyefe emevuu60\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Buy Dolly in newsagents or online<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791291374_325_6bf117e6-90c2-44bc-a2bb-92355b4636ba_1550228669.file.png\" alt=\"Headshot of Joe Anderton\" title=\"Headshot of Joe Anderton\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-o0wq4v ev8dhu53\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he&#8217;s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/tv\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">TV<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalspy.com\/movies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">movies<\/a> both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I&#8217;m a Fish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Cruise has said that he&#8217;s proud of his new movie Digger after it released to very mixed&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,147950,379,261309,381,96,190731,1156,261308,223205,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-793728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-57a1a9f7-d7c9-4e97-a26d-91da65550297","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-tom-cruise-proud-of-new-film-despite-bombing-at-box-office","tag-sponsored-false","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}