Anne Hathaway Praises Tom Cruise's 'Digger' Amid Box Office Disappointment
Hathaway calls Cruise's environmental crisis black comedy 'brilliant' as her own film 'Verity' tops the box office.
Actress Anne Hathaway has offered praise for Tom Cruise's latest film, "Digger," despite its underwhelming box office performance. The black comedy, which sees Cruise portraying an oil tycoon attempting to rectify an environmental crisis he inadvertently caused, garnered significant attention for its potential awards prospects but received mixed reviews, holding a 52 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
"Digger" earned $8 million domestically and an additional $12 million internationally during its opening weekend. This performance falls considerably short of its production budget, which sources indicate ranged from $125 million to $180 million. Variety reported the film's financial struggles.
Hathaway, whose new film "Verity" opened the same weekend and outperformed "Digger" at the box office, shared a positive review on Letterboxd, rating the film 5 out of 5 stars. She described "Digger" as "brilliant," "smart," "trippy," "aggressive," and "ambitious," recommending it as a film worth seeing for audiences to form their own opinions. She concluded her review with a personal score of 10 out of 10.
"Digger" was directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, known for directing films that have earned actors Academy Awards, including Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Revenant" and Michael Keaton in "Birdman."
Despite the film's box office struggles, Cruise expressed pride in the project. "I am so honored to have had the opportunity to create this film alongside such talented artists," he stated in an Instagram post accompanying behind-the-scenes photos. "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."
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro also defended "Digger," criticizing reviews that he deemed "petty." He argued on X that the film delivers on "scale, ambition and reach at a theatrical screen level," describing it as a "daring, bold and Cinematically complex" theatrical experience.
Meanwhile, Hathaway's film "Verity," an erotic thriller co-starring Dakota Johnson and based on a novel by Colleen Hoover, achieved a successful opening weekend, grossing $32.6 million and securing the top spot at the U.S. box office.
This year has been professionally notable for Hathaway, with the release of "The Devil Wears Prada 2" in May and her role in Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," which has surpassed $1 billion at the box office. "The Odyssey" featured an ensemble cast including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson.
