Digger (2026), starring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, is a film about controlling the narrative. Following a disappointing opening weekend and divisive critical reception, its marketing team appears to be doing exactly that — turning the controversy surrounding the film into its biggest selling point. But is Digger actually worth watching?

Is Tom Cruise's Digger Worth Watching?

Alejandro G. Iñárritu's latest feature follows Digger Rockwell (played by Tom Cruise), an outrageous oil tycoon who causes a massive climate catastrophe and endeavours to control the narrative about what he has caused. Well, kind of. I, like many who saw the trailers featuring a prosthetically paunched Tom Cruise yelling along with or at differing panels of angry men, thought maybe this one won’t be my cup of tea. But, being a big fan of Iñárritu’s filmography, I went out and saw it anyway. I watched it, I came home, I told everyone I know to go and see it, then I watched it again. Digger, in fact, was a triumph. It was completely boggling. It was funny, very silly, quite scary, and I loved it. 

(Spoiler Warning: Major spoilers for Digger follow) Be warned for spoilers ahead, as it transpires that ‘Digger Rockwell’ is not the protagonist of the film at all, but rather a character himself in the metanarrative within the film, played by Curtis Markson, a frustrated theatre actor acting as Digger in the play ‘Fossil Fools’, a play inspired by real events that destroyed the climate. There’s a lot of putting a hat on a hat, and a cowboy boot on a cowboy boot in this one. In one scene, Tom Cruise essentially addresses the Academy directly and delivers an unbroken ten-minute monologue so brilliantly that I started siding with big oil halfway through and started writing Tom Cruise’s acceptance speech by the end.

Why Did Digger Struggle at the Box Office?

Digger movie review

Upon its release, Digger relied heavily on the ambiguity around the content of the film as an incentive for us at home to go and see what it’s all about. But when a film’s marketing hinges on us seeing it to believe it, what happens when no one goes out and sees it? Digger opened to $20 million at the global box office against a budget of $160 million. Immediate critical reception wasn’t great either, with Kevin Maher of The Times giving it ⅕, calling the film ‘cloth-eared’ and ‘sanctimonious ’, and Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian echoing that sentiment, calling it ‘glib and overblown’.

Alright, well, how do we dig our way out?

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How Digger's Marketing Is Turning Criticism Into Publicity

I think it’s worth noting that a box office turnaround after a disappointing opening weekend can happen. The Greatest Showman opened to just $8.8 million and then went on to be, well, The Greatest Showman. Maybe the rumours that Digger was a musical might give the film a boost after all. Faced with this harsh reception, if you head to Diggerthemovie’s Instagram account at the moment, you’ll see one sentiment repeated a lot, ‘love it or hate it, decide for yourself’. One recent post flits between quotes and ratings from both positive and negative reviews with Digger, in-scene cajoling the audience with ‘you decide’.

This mirrors a pivotal scene in the film itself in which Ganesh (played by Riz Ahmed) stands in front of a crowd denigrating and blaming Digger Rockwell and his company for the crimes against the climate he has committed. Digger then follows him out, addresses the angry mob of journalists, telling them it’s all true, but there’s more to it than that! This tactic didn’t work out too well for Digger in the film; I’m hoping it works out better in the real world.

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Tom Cruise and the Art of Controlling the Narrative

Digger movie review

Digging deeper (pun intended and ungracefully shoehorned in), it’s worth looking at the promotional material beyond that of the film’s content. There is, after all, the Tom Cruise of it all. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that a film starring a figure as contentious as Tom Cruise has ended up being so divisive. Cruise has been charming his way through an intensive press run, masterfully deflecting any personal questions as he goes. Despite the controversy that surrounds him, Cruise has intentionally and devotedly focused the press on the film and its messaging. Famously evasive about his personal life, answering in a recent GQ article, when asked what he does when he’s not working on a film, with ‘preparing for the next’, the deepest we go with Tom is finding out that he’s a Swiftie and that he loves films, go figure. In an appearance on the Graham Norton show, he gives a light-hearted anecdote about how he, being the busy man he is, simply could not abide the six-hour prosthetics process. Cruise stood with a stopwatch, timing the makeup department until they streamlined the process down to less than an hour. The anecdote, for me, had the same underlying horror as Digger Rockwell’s dying on-stage cat, that poor makeup team. 

One is left to wonder how much of the Tom Cruise we are privy to is an act, much like Curtis' performance of Digger Rockwell. Cruise seems to be more conversational and open than ever, promoting Digger, doing meet-and-greets, in-depth interviews, and podcast appearances. These appearances still feel highly curated and controlled; the conversations remain safe and focused solely on filmmaking, without any mentions of fringe religious organisations or scorned family members. Both Cruise and Digger stay in control of the narrative, choosing for the audience what is important to focus on and what is best to ignore.

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Could Digger Become a Cult Classic?

Digger movie review

It would appear, however, that perhaps the tides are turning for Digger’s reception. Recent critic and audience ratings are largely positive, with even Anne Hathaway giving it 5 stars on Letterboxd. Digger’s social media page has begun showcasing the large amount of online praise for the film’s originality and layered narrative, with some already calling it a modern classic. 

I came away from Digger with the thought that I had never seen anything like that before, something that should be celebrated in today’s increasingly remake-laden landscape. Despite its best efforts to control the narrative, Digger has started a debate that its marketing team cannot solely dictate. Love it or hate it, Digger is a film worth arguing about.

I am rooting for you Digger, Bang Bang Bang! 

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