Warner Bros. has answered the bad reviews for Tom Cruise's Digger with a three-word ad
After less-than-favourable early reviews for Tom Cruise’s Digger, Warner Bros. Discovery has taken to X with a response — and it puts the ball in your court.
Tom Cruise is back on the big screen in Digger, but let’s just say critics haven’t exactly rolled out the red carpet for his latest outing. Warner Bros. Discovery could’ve kept quiet, but instead, they’ve decided to lean in—hard—on the controversy in a way that’s about as subtle as a brick through a window.
Digger holds a 52% Tomatometer after 96 reviews ahead of release.
Warner Bros. Flips the Script
With early reviews piling up and the general consensus looking increasingly bleak, the studio posted a straightforward bit of marketing on X (formerly Twitter) that said: ‘Decide for yourself. DIGGER – in theaters and IMAX FRIDAY. Tickets on sale now.’ No desperate spin, no clever editing tricks in the trailers—just telling punters to come have a look and make up their own minds. Not a usual move for a film straddling the line between flop and misunderstood masterpiece.
Surprisingly, a chunk of commenters actually respect the honesty. One, going by @Jesus_Returns29, even took things a step further, openly supporting how the studio’s post backs away from sugar-coating:
‘Decide for yourself.. Well done, WB. It’s a way to acknowledge bad reviews and tell the audience to judge for yourself. I’d go a step further… (quickly!). Dress up @TomCruise in the Digger Make-Up and get him to talk to the camera and say the following: (ANGRY) Do you THINK…’
Other users chimed in to say they want to see more bold, divisive films instead of things designed to please absolutely everyone. Another (@RSchillingNY) found the ‘Decide For Yourself’ tagline refreshingly direct, especially given how the film’s being received.
Cruise at Full Volume
So, what’s actually going on with the film? Digger had its first proper showing in London on 22 September 2026, and from there it’s been pretty rough going. Critics are split right down the middle, with the Rotten Tomatoes score parked at 52% (out of nearly 100 reviews—so not exactly an outlier). The main complaint: too much shouting, not enough substance.
- Jonathan Sim (ComingSoon): Found Digger ‘exhausting,’ saying everyone in it spends the runtime “operating at an 11… constantly yelling and escalating every interaction.” For him, all the chaos leads nowhere.
- Hoai-Tran Bui (Inverse): Compared the first half to an “endurance test… of how long you can listen to men yelling incessantly,” while the supposed twist in the second half came off as a bit smug.
- Christian Toto (Hollywood in Toto): Said Cruise’s attempt at Oscar bait “backfires in spectacular fashion.”
On the numbers side: up to 2 October 2026, Digger is sitting in the critical danger zone. That score may change as more reviews roll in, but at present, it’s shorthand for ‘proceed with caution.’ Whether audiences will ‘decide for themselves’ or just decide to stay home is anyone’s guess, but Warner Bros. is at least giving them the option to weigh in.
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