Entertainment · Film · 2 hrs ago
Ben Affleck Says ‘Digger’ Flop Could Push Studios Toward Safer Films
Ben Affleck says celebrating “Digger”’s failure could hurt ambitious films by encouraging studios to avoid projects that take creative risks.
The film stars Tom Cruise and was directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Affleck made his comments on the Happy Sad Confused podcast while discussing the film’s poor box-office performance.
“Digger” opened with $8 million in North America and took in $12 million internationally.
Affleck said that punishing films for taking a big swing could lead to more predictable, similar movies.
Some celebrities have spoken in support of the film, including Anne Hathaway, who praised it after her film “Verity” opened ahead of it at the box office.
The discussion has focused on whether studios will keep backing risky movies; no studio plans or next steps were given.
Ben Affleck warned that celebrating the box-office failure of Digger could encourage studios to make safer, less distinctive films.
He described the movie as an ambitious project and argued that films need to take risks to do something interesting.
Digger, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise, opened with $8 million domestically and earned $12 million internationally.
Affleck made his comments during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
Anne Hathaway and other celebrities also spoke in support of the film.
- Who
- Ben Affleck warned about the effects of celebrating Digger's poor box-office performance.
- What
- He said punishing films that take risks could lead studios to make more homogenized movies.
- When
- He made the comments during a podcast appearance on the Monday before the article was published on October 16, 2026.
- Where
- On the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
- Why
- He argued that criticism of ambitious films could make studios take safer approaches to future projects.
Ben Affleck
People celebrating Digger's box-office failure
Effect of the film's performance
Ben Affleck
Affleck said celebrating the film's failure could lead studios to make safer, homogenized movies.
People celebrating Digger's box-office failure
They celebrated Digger's poor performance, which Affleck said could have negative consequences.
Value of taking risks
Ben Affleck
Affleck said interesting films require taking risks, even when they sometimes look bad.
People celebrating Digger's box-office failure
Not stated.
Digger opened with $8 million domestically and went on to total $12 million internationally.
Affleck discussed Digger's poor performance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
- Director
- Alejandro G. Iñárritu
- Star
- Tom Cruise
- Domestic opening
- $8 million
- International total
- $12 million
- Podcast
- Happy Sad Confused
1 source
What people are saying
if you punish movies that take risks, guess what you’re going to get? A bunch of shitty, homogenized movies
You cannot do something interesting without taking a big swing, and that means you’re going to sometimes look bad.
I loved this brilliant movie. It’s smart and trippy and aggressive and funny and ambitious. It’s worth making the time see and decide for yourself what you make of it. For me? 10/10.
Digger is basically what happens when you put two outsize egos together with nobody holding the reins to keep their most self-indulgent impulses in check.