Hollywood actor Tom Cruise defended the satirical black comedy Digger on the On Film With Kevin McCarthy podcast after the film suffered one of the worst box office openings of his career. The film was directed by Alejandro G.
Iñárritu. Digger took just $8 million in North America against a production budget exceeding $160 million.
Cruise said: "When I am making [movies], I'm not going, 'Opening weekend!' I feel very much like we're going to make something that is a lasting piece of cinema." Cruise and Iñárritu cited Ridley Scott's Blade Runner as a historic example of a movie that suffered poor initial reception before becoming a classic.
Cruise said he hopes Digger will similarly endure. The film has a reported production budget of $160 million to $180 million, alongside a $100 million marketing spend.
It requires roughly $350 million worldwide to break even, after a $20 million global start. Digger marks Cruise's first non-action role in nearly a decade.
He plays an oil tycoon whose Antarctic rig malfunction threatens Europe, and critics' reviews of the film were sharply divided. Over the opening weekend, Cruise published a social media post thanking the cast and crew for their dedication and saying he is proud of what they created.