Hollywood actor Ben Affleck has stepped forward to defend Tom Cruise's new film 'Digger', warning that publicly trashing ambitious movies sends a damaging signal to major studios — one that ultimately pushes them toward safer, blander filmmaking. Affleck made the remarks on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast, as the film continues to underperform at the US box office since its release on 2 October 2025.

What Affleck Said

Speaking candidly on the podcast, Affleck drew a sharp analogy between online film-bashing and high-school bullying. 'It's a little bit like the high-school bullying thing, with people who hadn't even seen movies. You see it happening now, frankly, with Digger. Everybody wants to celebrate this bomb as if it's the most exciting thing to happen. And you think like, it's a pretty ambitious, interesting movie made by interesting people who have talent,' he said.

Affleck — who has himself survived several high-profile box-office flops over a decades-long career — argued that gleefully celebrating the failure of a daring project only encourages studios to greenlight formulaic, risk-free content that crowds out originality.

About the Film

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, 63, 'Digger' follows the story of an oil baron confronted with a global catastrophe after one of his Antarctic rigs malfunctions, sending ice caps hurtling toward Europe. The film is described as a dark satire blending ambition with dark comedy.

Despite its high-concept premise, 'Digger' has earned only $15 million at the US box office as of mid-October. With a production budget exceeding $160 million and a marketing spend reportedly around $100 million, the film reportedly needs to gross at least $350 million worldwide just to break even in theatres — a threshold it is currently far from reaching.

Anne Hathaway's Defence and Her Upcoming Cruise Project

Affleck is not alone in championing the film. Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway, 43, published a glowing review of 'Digger' on the film-sharing platform Letterboxd — her first written review on the platform. She wrote: 'I loved this brilliant movie. 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.'

Hathaway's endorsement carries additional context: she and Tom Cruise are reportedly set to collaborate on a sequel to his 1990 racing drama 'Days of Thunder', scheduled for release in 2028. Critics have noted the timing of her review, though the defence of the film itself has been widely noted across the industry.

Wider Industry Implications

The debate around 'Digger' reflects a broader tension in Hollywood between commercially safe franchises and auteur-driven, higher-risk projects. Notably, this is not the first time a prestige film from a celebrated director has faced a backlash-amplified box-office collapse in the social media era. Iñárritu's previous films, including 'Birdman' and 'The Revenant', drew polarised audience responses before gaining critical acclaim. Industry observers argue that the online pile-on culture may be accelerating studios' retreat from original IP — a trend with long-term consequences for cinematic diversity. Whether 'Digger' finds its audience in subsequent theatrical runs or on streaming remains to be seen.