Why Tom Cruise’s Digger is quoting negative reactions in its own advert

Tom Cruise’s Digger is putting negative reactions in its own advertising: Warner Bros. released a September 29 advert on X pairing praise with criticism ahead of the film’s October 2 wide theatrical opening. The campaign makes the divided reception part of the pitch, inviting prospective ticket buyers to judge the climate satire themselves.

“Decide for yourself,” the studio’s official account wrote in the post reproduced by TheWrap. The advert’s own message is equally direct: “Same film, different truth.” Those lines frame a campaign that displays hostile reactions alongside enthusiastic ones.

What the Digger advert actually says

According to TheWrap, the advert pairs “Masterpiece” with “Unpleasant”, “Brilliant” with “Baffling”, “Excellent” with “Very Goofy”, and “Magnificent” with “Insufferable”. These are excerpts selected for the promotion from reactions on X. They are evidence of what the studio chose to display, rather than a representative survey of viewers.

The design makes that disagreement visible. Positive words appear in white, negative ones in orange, with the negative excerpt initially above its positive counterpart. The pairs flip and switch places before the advert delivers its message about different responses to the same film.

Why Digger’s critics disagree

One substantial positive response comes from Time Out’s Phil de Semlyen, who awarded Digger four stars out of five. He called it “Mordantly funny and wildly surprising” and wrote: “I lapped up every bonkers moment.” He also acknowledged that some viewers would find its energy exhausting.

De Semlyen’s praise rests on specific choices. He admired Cruise’s exaggerated portrayal of masculine dominance alongside a quieter vulnerability in the performance. He also singled out Dennis Gassner’s mansion design and Riz Ahmed’s acting, extending his approval beyond the film’s leading star.

Time Out describes an oilman confronting a catastrophe connected to his drilling, with political leaders arguing over blame and public messaging. De Semlyen reads the story’s turns as an examination of how narratives shape fear, anger and compromise.

Other critics found the environmental argument less convincing. Rotten Tomatoes reproduces Katie Walsh’s two-out-of-four Tribune News Service assessment, calling Digger a “hopelessly muddled misfire” that “doesn’t know where to place blame for a degrading planet”. That is Walsh’s critical judgment of the satire.

The same page carries a two-out-of-five assessment from The Nightly’s Wenlei Ma. She writes that the film “doesn’t stop shouting at you – literally and metaphorically” long enough to become more than “a cacophonous ride you want to get off”.

Those attributed responses show a disagreement over the film’s energy and handling of its themes. The negative quotations are excerpts displayed by Rotten Tomatoes, so they should not stand in for every argument in the critics’ complete reviews.

What Digger’s Rotten Tomatoes score means

TheWrap recorded 54% from 89 reviews on September 29. When checked on September 30, Digger’s Rotten Tomatoes page displayed 51% from 121 reviews. Those are differently timed snapshots of a growing collection of reviews, and the later figure can change as more are counted.

Under Rotten Tomatoes’ published methodology, the Tomatometer measures the percentage of professional reviews classified as positive. A 51% score therefore does not mean an average mark of 5.1 out of 10, or that 51% of ticket buyers enjoyed Digger.

The service labels films Fresh when at least 60% of reviews are positive and Rotten below that threshold. That classification counts positive recommendations; it does not measure revenue or how intensely an individual critic liked or disliked the film.

Audience ratings use a separate measure, the Popcornmeter. Its default verified score draws on people whose ticket purchases Rotten Tomatoes can confirm. Digger’s page displayed zero verified ratings at the September 30 check, leaving no verified audience verdict there to compare with the critics.

What happens when Digger opens

The attention also comes with a change of role for Cruise. TheWrap places Digger in the context of his return to non-action acting after years dominated by Top Gun and Mission: Impossible blockbusters. Rotten Tomatoes lists him as Digger Rockwell, with Alejandro González Iñárritu directing.

Rotten Tomatoes lists October 2 as the wide theatrical release date, while Warner Bros.’ post promotes cinemas and IMAX. The selected promotional reactions and critic scores establish neither broad audience reception nor commercial performance. Those remain separate questions as the film reaches its wider audience.