Warner Bros. is making another attempt to market Digger, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s difficult-to-sell and commercially struggling film, with a new online ad that pits international praise against American criticism.
The spot opens with Tom Cruise’s character, Digger Rockwell, saying, “America has stood beside the world in its darkest of hours.” Riz Ahmed’s character replies, “Not anymore.”
The ad then cuts through a series of critical quotes, each paired with the flag of the critic’s country. A Mexican YouTuber calls the film “Epic, Extraordinary and Biting.” The Playlist, accompanied by an American flag, calls it “Grotesque, Deliberately Tacky.” A French critic describes Digger as “A Gem of Intelligence,” while The New York Post labels it “An Unintentionally Bad Movie.” The spot concludes with Cruise’s character saying, “You decide which!”
The implication is clear: the rest of the world loves the movie, and Americans simply fail to appreciate its genius. Whether that pitch will work is another question.
Digger is expected to gross only around $8 million domestically in its opening weekend, below the studio’s already modest projection of $12 million to $15 million and far beneath the film’s $125 million budget. U.S. moviegoers gave it a CinemaScore of C+.
Still, is there any truth to the claim that international critics like Digger more than American ones? Possibly a little. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the film at 50 percent positive, while the French aggregation site AlloCiné gives it an average press rating of 3.2 out of 5 across 30 reviews. The two metrics are not directly comparable, but the French score suggests a somewhat warmer reception. Several top critics in Britain and Australia were also notably positive, though both countries had their share of negative reviews as well.
On Saturday, Cruise took to social media to express his pride in the film. “Digger is officially in theaters and I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists,” he wrote. “Thank you to the entire cast and crew for your dedication, hard work and joy. The experience was truly unforgettable and I’m so proud of what we created.”