Ben Affleck has pushed back against people celebrating the box office failure of Tom Cruise’s Digger, arguing that punishing ambitious films could encourage Hollywood to make safer, more uniform movies. His defence concerns the risks filmmakers take, rather than a claim that the film’s financial performance has been misunderstood.
According to TheWrap’s account of his Happy Sad Confused interview, the actor and director compared the response to “high school bullying”. He described Digger as an ambitious, interesting film made by talented people and questioned why its commercial struggles had become something to celebrate.
Affleck’s warning about taking risks
Affleck made the comments during a career-spanning conversation with podcast host Josh Horowitz. The discussion included his move into directing with 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, and the difficulty of changing an audience’s mind when it already has a negative impression of an actor.
TheWrap reports that part of Affleck’s pitch for that film was that he would not star in it. He recalled reviews that expressed surprise he had made something worthwhile, rather than simply judging the film on its merits. That experience formed the backdrop to his comparison with the reaction to Digger.
“You cannot do something interesting without taking a big swing,” Affleck said. “That means you’re going to sometimes look bad.”
His argument distinguishes disliking a film from treating its failure as an achievement. Affleck warned that punishing risk-taking would produce homogenised movies. He did not suggest that audiences must enjoy every ambitious project, or that ambition guarantees a commercial return.
The interview also produced his comments about the Justice League reshoots being a career low point. Here, however, his focus was on another filmmaker’s work and the response to its disappointing results.
Digger’s reported losses remain a projection
Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Cruise, Digger has divided critics and audiences. IGN reports that it earned $35.3 million worldwide after two weekends, following an opening weekend of $8 million domestically and $12 million internationally.
The same report puts its expected final worldwide gross at around $40 million and its projected loss at $250 million. Those are forecasts, not a completed theatrical total or a studio’s final accounting. Box office revenue and a film’s eventual loss are different measures; the reported gross alone does not establish the latter.
Tbreak previously covered the projected $250 million loss. Affleck’s intervention adds a response to that commercial story, not a revised estimate of how much the film will make.
For viewers deciding whether to watch it, his comments are a defence of creative risk rather than a verdict on the film’s quality. Its financial performance, the divided reviews, and his concerns about Hollywood’s appetite for ambitious work remain separate questions.
Did Ben Affleck make Digger?
No. Alejandro G. Iñárritu directed the Tom Cruise film. Affleck discussed it during an interview about his career.
Does the reported $250 million loss mean Digger has finished its cinema run?
No. The figure is a projected loss by the end of its theatrical run, not confirmation that screenings have ended.
