Warner Bros. Pulls Controversial "Digger" Ad Targeting U.S. Critics After Box Office Flop

Warner Bros. has removed a provocative online advertisement for the Tom Cruise film "Digger" that directly challenged American critics following a disappointing opening weekend at the box office. The film, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and reportedly costing at least $125 million to produce, grossed only $8 million in U.S. cinemas, marking the lowest opening weekend for a Cruise-led film in nearly two decades. The studio also spent an estimated $100 million on marketing prior to the film's release.

The deleted advertisement, which appeared on X (formerly Twitter), featured Cruise as his character, Digger Rockwell, stating, "America has stood beside the world in its darkest of hours," followed by a retort from co-star Riz Ahmed's character: "Not anymore." The ad then showcased a series of critical quotes, juxtaposing positive reviews from international outlets with negative assessments from U.S. publications. For instance, a glowing review from a Mexican YouTuber calling the film "Epic, Extraordinary and Biting" was contrasted with a critique from the U.S. site Playlist labeling it "Grotesque, Deliberately Tacky." Similarly, a French critic's assessment of "a Gem of Intelligence" was placed alongside The New York Post's description of it as "An Unintentionally Bad Movie." The ad concluded with Cruise's character prompting viewers to "You decide which!"

While the advertisement was removed, reactions to it remain online, with some social media users expressing a sense of defiance or intrigue, with one commenting, "a film's marketing calling out how dumb Americans are is such a beast mode move man, I might have to watch it now!" Others encouraged moviegoers to "Prove the Europeans wrong and go to the movies. It’s your patriotic duty."

Despite the aggressive marketing tactic, "Digger" has not performed strongly overseas either, earning only $12 million from 74 countries in its opening weekend. Critical reception in Britain has been somewhat more favorable than in the U.S. Brian Viner of the Daily Mail awarded the film four stars, describing it as "bold and often brilliant film-making." Nicholas Barber of the BBC also gave it four stars, praising Cruise's "gargantuan scale of his performance" and Iñárritu's style.

However, many U.S. reviews were harsh. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave the film two stars, calling it "glib and overblown" and suggesting it "finds itself in a postmodern hole." Kevin Maher of The Times awarded it one star, stating Cruise was the film's "fatal flaw."