'Digger' box office flop

After receiving a series of negative reviews, Tom Cruise's "Digger" faced a substantial international decline, setting it up to be one of the most significant failures in film history.

In the world of public opinion, critics are often seen in two ways: either as outdated relics like almanacs or sundials, a view Hollywood might favor, or as destructive forces like Godzilla, eagerly tearing films apart.

This past weekend clarified which perspective is more accurate.

Once the reviews were released, the domestic box office projections for "Digger" dropped from an already low $20 million to $15 million, eventually landing at a disappointing $8 million. For comparison, even the unsuccessful "Masters of the Universe" opened with $29 million. It's worth noting that "Digger"—a meta satire with a deep message from the director of “Birdman” about an oil tycoon facing an environmental crisis—had a reported production budget between $135 million and $180 million, a considerable investment for such a film.

Currently, extensive efforts are being made to bypass the honest evaluations of professional critics.

Actors engage in charming activities, such as making pizzas in videos for the New York Times.

They join entertaining podcasts like “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” and “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” where they talk about their childhoods and early careers at length.

Most concerningly, my colleague from Page Six Hollywood, Tatiana Siegel, reported that “Digger” held a special trailer launch event to attract influencers. Attendees had the chance to take a professional photo with Cruise. Unsurprisingly, these individuals praised “Digger” as better than “The Godfather.”

This shows how Tom and his team made every effort to counteract critics like Manohla Dargis of the New York Times, Kyle Smith of the Wall Street Journal, Owen Gleiberman of Variety, David Erlich of IndieWire, and many others, all of whom expressed disapproval.

Now, Hollywood is desperately trying to salvage this fiasco—much like the protagonist in “Digger.” However, this task seems to be an impossible mission.