Ben Affleck warns against cheering Tom Cruise film Digger flop
Ben Affleck said celebrating Digger’s box-office flop could make Hollywood even more cautious about risky films.
- According to the provided source, the film had made $35.3 million worldwide after two weekends, with an $8 million U.S. opening and $12 million internationally.
- The source also says Digger could be headed for a $250 million loss, while Warner Bros. reportedly expects a worldwide total of around $40 million.
What happened
Ben Affleck spoke on an episode of Josh Horowitz’s podcast Happy Sad Confused about ambitious movies and the importance of taking risks in Hollywood. In the provided source, he is quoted as warning that cheering the box-office flop of Digger can feel like “high-school bullying.”
The IGN piece ties that reaction to a broader point: according to Affleck, publicly punishing an expensive misfire can push studios toward safer choices, such as sequels and familiar IP adaptations. The source uses Digger as an example of a film that has underperformed commercially.
The article describes the film as directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu and starring Tom Cruise. According to the cited figures, Digger opened with about $8 million in the United States and $12 million internationally, before reaching roughly $35.3 million worldwide after two weekends.
The source also says the film is projected to lose around $250 million and that Warner Bros. expects the worldwide total to land near $40 million. It adds that reception has been split among critics and audiences, though no specific scores or metrics are provided.
Timeline
2026-10-13: IGN publishes an article about Ben Affleck’s comments on Happy Sad Confused and Digger’s box-office performance.
2026-10-13: The same source cites the film’s opening figures: about $8 million in the U.S. and $12 million internationally.
2026-10-13: The source says Digger has reached about $35.3 million worldwide after two weekends.
2026-10-13: IGN reports that the film could be headed for a $250 million loss and that Warner Bros. is expecting around $40 million worldwide.
Background
The debate here is about how Hollywood responds to expensive films that fail to perform. In the provided source, Affleck uses Digger to argue that failure should not be celebrated, because doing so may reduce the industry’s willingness to back original or risky projects.
The podcast setting matters because the comments come from a conversation on Josh Horowitz’s channel rather than an official studio statement. The YouTube metadata included with the source confirms the interview context and Affleck’s appearance, but does not provide a full transcript of his remarks.