I didn't even know this movie existed until I started seeing articles about how badly it bombed.
this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2026
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That's too bad. I respect how Tom Cruise swung for the fence on this character.
That said. This movie should have had a budget of about $50MM, max
EDIT: (for context)
Warner Bros. greenlit the film for $125 million, but the budget soared to $160 million to $180 million after production went over schedule.
The only commercial I saw for it was a 5 minute recap of Tom cruises past films with a 15 second clip of digger right at the end. And tom cruises name. Thats all I know about the movie.
What is MM
The correct way to abbreviate million.
Million Moneys
Oh, roman numeral bullshit. They can't even do it correct MM is 2000
Tech uses greek.
K = thousands
M = millions
G = billions. So KB, MB, GB.
Financials use Roman.
M = thousand
MM = a thousand thousand (million)
MMM = a thousand thousand thousand (billion)
Mmm Mmm = crash test dummies
Impressive accounting to spend $180 mil, make some amount of profit, and still claim it costed you $245 mil.
That's common. The $180MM is the production cost to which you need to add marketing etc.. I watched Matt Damon and Bem Affleck talk about this when explaining why big studios are so risk averse when making movies. Basically the rule of thumb is that a movie needs to gross double it's production cost just to break even, and that's still considered a relative failure.
For most movies that tracks but where was the marketing on this one? Who pocketed all that money?
I saw a lot of ads fot it, including in theatres. Also marketing goes beyond ads. The trailers cost money, the press tour/junkets, etc.
I won't pretend to know all the ins and outs, which is why I deferred to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who have been in that business for a long time.
Nobody went to see the movie. So, again, where was the marketing on this one?
The marketing existed, but the trailers didn't do much past showcase Tom Cruise being zany, and the plot did not seem very appealing. My guess is that, just like The Bride, they made an art house movie witha very niche audience, for way too much money. The budget for both movies should have been miniscule.
I saw this tonight. Ten people in the theater. This is the best film I've seen all year. The story just kept unfolding and Cruise gives an outstanding performance.
I saw Odyssey last weekend and the theatre was like 60 or 70% full. Digger was also playimg, and in hindsight, i would've rather watched that one. Although, i don't want to spend money on the Scientology weirdo and just pirate it.
I've heard good things about this film. Maybe streaming will help it rebound.
I saw it yesterday and it's a great film. Everyone I know who's seen it has enjoyed it.
I had seen the articles about it not making money, which is a problem, but not necessarily a reflection of the film itself.
I was surprised reviewers were treating it so harshly. I absolutely have issues with the film but it's still a solid movie. I definitely left the theater with interesting things to think about.
I'm reminded of the recent film "The Drama". The summary of that film is "A happily-engaged couple is put to the test when an unexpected turn sends their wedding week off the rails." If you've seen the film, sure... Technically that's true. But the film is about A LOT of other things that are much more interesting. (I don't want to spoil more, but it's an excellent film but as fair warning it deals with heavy issues.)
I think "Digger" is like that. The trailer and summary pitch a simple plot, "The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity's savior before the disaster he's unleashed destroys everything." Again, technically that's true. You will see that story in the film. But you're also going to see something else and that something else is interesting and entertaining.
Thanks. I keep lurking in the comments for anything on the merits of the film. I get dunking on Hollywood and its stars but, you know, some actual good stuff gets made from time to time.
If you haven't seen "Digger" I really do recommend it.
It's frustrating to see so many comments about films having people begging for something new and original, and then when that happens everyone just shits on Hollywood and actors.
The film may be a box office flop because it took a risk. The budget is too big and it's not a "Top Gun" type film is that going to rake in millions of dollars. I like those type of films, and if you expected "Digger" to be one... Fair enough, you might not enjoy the film.
But if you give the film a little freedom and a chance, you'll get an interesting story. Also it's hilarious and the film knows it.
The Drama was a wild ride!
Licensing a film for streaming isn't as lucrative. Its going to take a long time to make that money back.
how much money do they make when people pirate it?
More than if nobody pirates it and never tells others how much they like it.
but... Tom Cruise IS Digger?
I love it when a major studio gives an auteur director way too much money to make an arthouse flop and hope this does not get replaced by AI Slop everything when the Ellisons own all of Hollywood.
The movie may have bombed at the box office, but it's supposed to be a good movie.
It was very good.
Oh no! What will scientology do now?
That movie is a 10/10 people are just but hurt the twist puts them into a place of guilt.
I hear Xenu is pretty pissed off.
Tom Cruise is Digger…
But is there any money actually lost by the people producing films? I'm pretty sure movie studios create a separate business for each film so they can declare bankruptcy if it doesn't make money. I'm sure someone is getting fucked, but it ain't Tom or anyone at the studios.
Parting gift from WB to Skydance?