Updated
Updated · Variety · Sep 29
Warner Bros. Pushes 'Digger' With 52% Rotten Tomatoes Score as Reviews Split Ahead of Oct. 2 Release
Updated
Updated · Variety · Sep 29

Warner Bros. Pushes 'Digger' With 52% Rotten Tomatoes Score as Reviews Split Ahead of Oct. 2 Release

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Sep 29

Summary

  • Warner Bros. released a new “Digger” ad that pairs praise like “Masterpiece” with put-downs such as “Unpleasant,” telling audiences to “decide for yourself.”
  • The campaign went out about 1 hour before the review embargo lifted, suggesting the studio was trying to blunt harsher critical notices after early social-media reactions had been more favorable.
  • Critics were notably tougher: “Digger” sits at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Variety, Vulture and IndieWire called the $125 million-plus film self-important, torturous and a surreal misfire.
  • The Alejandro G. Iñárritu film stars Tom Cruise as an oil tycoon whose drilling triggers a climate crisis, marking his first non-action lead role in nearly a decade before its Oct. 2 theatrical debut.

Insights

Why are some viewers calling Tom Cruise’s Digger brilliant while critics call it a surreal misfire—and what makes it so divisive?
Can Warner Bros. turn Digger’s 52% critics score into a box-office advantage by selling the movie as a must-judge-for-yourself event?