John Goodman believes the critical reception to Digger “killed” the movie before it had even been released.
Tom Cruise’s latest film, Digger, is one of the biggest Hollywood bombs of 2026. So far, the film has only made $49 million on a reported budget between $125–180 million, meaning it won’t come close to breaking even in its theatrical run and probably won’t make up the difference on home video. Given Cruise is seen as one of the last true movie stars, it was a pretty devastating blow.
Cruise’s Digger co-star, John Goodman, spoke about the situation with Josh Horowitz and believed that critics pushed anyone away from seeing it. Digger’s Rotten Tomatoes score sits at 53%, making it one of Cruise’s most divisive movies and the lowest-rated film in his filmography since 2017’s The Mummy.
“It hurt. They kinda killed us before we opened [with headlines like], ‘This will only make $5,” said Goodman. “And it [felt like] a good reason for people to avoid it. I’m proud of it. I had a ball doing it.”
Goodman went on to state that he believed in the message of Digger and defended the film, despite it not being universally loved. IGN gave Digger a 6 out of 10, noting that the movie lacks the bite needed to sell its message, but has great performances and humor.
“Digger’s satire may not change your thinking on global warming, but there are excellent performances and more than a few laughs,” reads an excerpt from our review. “If you’re an AMC A-List member (or have another cinema subscription), Digger is worth catching on the big screen.”
Maybe Digger will be one of those movies that ages well and fans will feel was misjudged. However, it may be years before it gets any kind of meaningful reevaluation. Whether this will deter Cruise from doing more big swings also remains to be seen, but at least the team behind the film stands by it.
