Tom Cruise spent a decade waiting to play this guy – and critics can’t agree whether it was worth it. The Digger movie, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s $125 million satire starring Cruise as a Texas oil tycoon, hits theaters Friday, October 2, with a Rotten Tomatoes score hovering right around 50% and tracking that has Warner Bros. bracing for a soft opening.
Some reviewers are calling it a masterpiece. Others are calling it one of the year’s biggest misfires. Almost all of them agree on one thing: Cruise has never done anything quite like this. Here is what you need to know before you buy a ticket – with zero spoilers.
What Is the Digger Movie About?
Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil tycoon who is, in the words of the official synopsis, “the most powerful man in the world.” He sets off on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he unleashed destroys everything.
That’s the setup the trailers sold. It is a dark political satire and black comedy about climate catastrophe, power and the stories rich men tell about themselves. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman described Cruise’s look as “pounds of jowly make-up and thinning disheveled white hair” – so yes, this is the most unrecognizable he has looked on screen in years.
One heads-up: multiple critics say the film has a major twist roughly 30 minutes in that the marketing deliberately kept hidden. TheWrap reported that Iñárritu and Warner Bros. chose to hide those reveals to maximize their impact. If you want to go in clean, stay off social media and skip the deep-dive reviews until after you see it.
The Cast and Crew
The ensemble is stacked. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ official listing and the film’s credits:
- Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell (also a producer)
- Riz Ahmed as Ganesh, a scientist and the President’s assistant
- John Goodman as Compson, the President of the United States
- Sandra Hüller as Emma Rockwell, Digger’s half-sister and business partner
- Michael Stuhlbarg as the Vice President
- Jesse Plemons as Kenny
- Emma D’Arcy, Robert John Burke, Burn Gorman and Sophie Wilde in supporting roles
Behind the camera, Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant) co-wrote the screenplay with Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris and Nicolás Giacobone. Three-time Oscar winner Emmanuel Lubezki shot it on 35mm VistaVision, and Cosmo Sheldrake composed the score in his feature debut.
Digger Movie Reviews: Why Critics Are So Split
As of Thursday morning, October 1, Digger sits at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes from 123 reviews. TheWrap logged it at 50% with 127 reviews on Wednesday, so the number is wobbling around the coin-flip line. On Metacritic, it has landed in the mid-40s (World of Reel reported 44; other outlets cited 46).
Rotten Tomatoes’ own first-reviews roundup summed it up as “an ambitious but muddled satire led by a fully committed Tom Cruise.” Several outlets noted it is Cruise’s first “rotten” movie in about nine years.
The Pans
The harshest notices focus on the comedy – or the lack of it.
- Variety headlined its review as a “bombastically self-important satire.” Gleiberman put it bluntly: “Here’s the real problem: Digger isn’t funny.”
- IndieWire’s David Ehrlich wrote that “the sweaty clumsiness of its punchlines and sight gags” makes the satire feel like “an IMAX-sized JibJab cartoon.”
- The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney compared it to “colossal misfires” like Babylon and Amsterdam.
- TheWrap’s William Bibbiani called it “self-adulating claptrap.”
- Awards Radar’s Joey Magidson called it a “fascinating misfire” – but still “the sort of interesting failure that’s eminently worth seeing.”
The Raves
On the other side, some critics think the backlash is missing the point.
- Screen Rant’s Brandon Zachary said it “speaks to the current world and its politics” and called Cruise’s turn “a terrific performance.”
- Time Out’s Philip De Semlyen wrote, “Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it isn’t funny.”
- The San Jose Mercury News’ Randy Myers called it “perhaps his best acting turn yet.”
- Fresh Fiction’s Courtney Howard called it “a veritable masterclass in filmmaking.”
- The Los Angeles Times’ Amy Nicholson landed in the middle: she doesn’t “entirely love this strange comedy” but is “giddy that it’s lurched into existence.”
The common thread? Even many negative reviews praise the craft – Lubezki’s images, Dennis Gassner’s production design – and Riz Ahmed keeps getting singled out as the supporting standout. The fight is mostly about tone, message and whether the jokes land.
Is Tom Cruise Actually Good in Digger?
This is the one question where critics come closest to agreeing. Even Variety, in a negative review, called Cruise’s acting “well-played and skillfully etched,” while also describing it as “essentially a Saturday Night Live caricature, only executed with Method fullness.”
It is a big swing for a star who has spent most of the last decade in Mission: Impossible and Top Gun mode. Cruise and Iñárritu first discussed the project around 2019, and Iñárritu has said the character was a “relentless, recurring obsession” he carried since finishing The Revenant. Warner Bros. has openly positioned the film as an awards play, with hopes of landing Cruise his fourth acting Oscar nomination, according to TheWrap.
Whether the divided reviews sink those Oscar hopes is a fair question. World of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy wrote that the film’s Oscar odds “have all but collapsed” – even though he personally liked it.
Digger Movie Box Office: A Rough Weekend Ahead?
Here is where the stakes get real. Digger cost a reported $125 million to make, and the opening-weekend forecasts are not pretty:
| Source | Digger forecast | Verity forecast |
|---|---|---|
| Warner Bros. (via TheWrap) | $12M – $15M | – |
| TheWrap industry estimate | ~ $12M | $35M+ |
| Todd M. Thatcher (Sept. 29) | $10.3M (4th place) | $20.4M (1st place) |
| World of Reel | Possibly under $10M | – |
TheWrap reported that opening-day presales for Digger were roughly half of what Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another had at the same point – and that film opened to $22 million last year. Box office prognosticator Todd M. Thatcher wrote that a “barely double digits” debut “would be a disastrous kickoff for the satire with a $125 million budget.”
The weekend favorite is Verity, the Colleen Hoover thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson. We broke down that one in our Verity release and cast guide. Digger also has to fight holdovers like Avengers: Endgame Encore, Resident Evil and Brad Pitt’s Heart of the Beast.
There’s an industry storyline too. TheWrap noted that Digger is Warner Bros.’ final release as a standalone studio before Paramount takes ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery. Warner Bros. is leaning into the controversy with an ad urging moviegoers to “Decide for Yourself.”
How to Watch the Digger Movie
- Release date: Friday, October 2, 2026, in theaters nationwide (wide release)
- Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures (produced with Legendary Pictures)
- Rating: R for pervasive language
- Runtime: 129 minutes (about 2 hours, 9 minutes)
- Formats: IMAX, Dolby Cinema, other premium large formats, plus select VistaVision screenings
- Streaming: No streaming date has been announced. It is theaters-only for now.
If you are going to see it, the visuals are the strongest argument for the biggest screen you can find. Even critics who disliked the film praised how it looks.
Should You See Digger This Weekend?
Honest answer: it depends on what you want from a Friday night.
Go if: you love big, weird swings; you’re a fan of Iñárritu’s Birdman era; you want to see Cruise do something completely different; or you enjoy arguing about a movie on the drive home. Plenty of critics who didn’t love it still said it is never dull.
Maybe skip (or wait) if: you want a classic Tom Cruise crowd-pleaser, you’re allergic to heavy-handed messaging, or you didn’t love Don’t Look Up. Multiple reviewers compared Digger to that film, and not always kindly.
For families: it is rated R for pervasive language, so leave the kids at home.
If you’re still deciding what else to watch this season, our fall 2026 movies guide has the other big releases worth your money.
The Bottom Line
The Digger movie is the definition of divisive: a gorgeous, expensive, deeply strange satire with a career-swing performance from Tom Cruise and a reception that splits right down the middle. Box office tracking suggests it may struggle this weekend, but word of mouth – especially about that hidden twist – could still shape its run.
Your move: If you’re curious, catch an IMAX or Dolby showing this weekend before spoilers flood your feed, then come back and tell us whether you’re Team Masterpiece or Team Misfire. And check back Sunday for our full weekend box office breakdown.
