Digger has inspired an unexpectedly passionate online following, but the growing “Digger Nation” movement may not arrive in time to rescue Tom Cruise’s latest film from a potentially historic financial loss.
A film dividing critics and audiences
Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s film currently holds a 52 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, while its audience score has reached 73 percent. Viewers who have ignored the early critical consensus have described the film as a bold and absorbing experience, helping turn Digger Nation into a growing fan identity.
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Anne Hathaway joins the conversation
Anne Hathaway is now among the film’s supporters. The actor, who has a public Letterboxd account, reviewed Digger after revealing the account earlier this year.
“I loved this brilliant movie,” Hathaway wrote. “It’s smart and trippy and aggressive and funny and ambitious. It’s worth making the time see and decide for yourself what you make of it. For me? 10/10.”
A post dated October 7, 2026, announced that Hathaway had joined the film’s online fan movement, linking her review to the wider “Digger hive” discussion.
Empty cinemas and signs of momentum
One viewer described seeing Digger in an almost completely empty AMC auditorium, comparing the experience to the famous Nicole Kidman cinema advertisement and finding an added layer of metafictional humour in the setting. Another audience member shared a similar account of an empty screening through a social-media post.
There are also early, anecdotal indications that word of mouth may be improving. While Cruise and Iñárritu continue a busy promotional tour in Japan, Cruise took part in an interview with Hideo Kojima for Gizmodo Japan.
Fans have reportedly begun recognising one another at screenings. One attendee posted that around 70 people attended an evening showing, adding that “the diggerposting is working”. Other fans continue to share plans and reactions online.
The numbers remain daunting
Even a late surge in enthusiasm would need to overcome a substantial commercial gap. Digger reportedly had a $125 million production budget and earned only $21 million globally during its opening weekend.
The Wrap reports that the film is projected to lose $250 million by the end of its run, even after post-theatrical revenue is included. If that estimate holds, it would be the largest loss of Cruise’s career by a considerable margin. Skydance executives, following the company’s completed acquisition of Warner Bros., were reportedly shocked by the scale of the deficit.
The situation has produced an unusual contrast: a film that is struggling financially while building a vocal, highly engaged fan community. As one commentator summed it up, many films claim to oppose capitalism, but few put that idea into practice as dramatically as this one appears to have done.
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