《Digger》在国内仅收获800万美元，全球总票房为2000万美元，未能吸引到观众。这一表现与克鲁斯近期的成功之作，如《壮志凌云：独行侠》和《碟中谍》系列，形成了鲜明对比。据报道，《Digger》的净制作预算为1.6亿美元，还不包括估计的1亿美元全球营销费用，这使得该片的财务亏损相当可观。

观众的反应充其量只能说是冷淡，CinemaScore评分为C+，烂番茄新鲜度为51%。RelishMix报告的社交媒体数据显示，正面讨论迅速下滑，许多观众表示困惑。该分析公司指出：“《Digger》的讨论褒贬不一，偏负面。观众们虽然喜欢克鲁斯的名号，但对影片的执行方式持怀疑态度。”这凸显了克鲁斯的影响力与影片非传统的叙事方式之间的脱节。

《Digger》中，克鲁斯饰演了一个出人意料的角色——一位“年老、粗俗、秃顶的德州人”石油大亨，他的环保项目却灾难性地失败了。这种对他典型动作英雄形象的颠覆，加上影片“冗长、对话驱动的讽刺”，影射了MAGA时代，似乎疏远了他的大部分粉丝。一位《Deadline》引述的“资深娱乐记者”坦率地评论道：“当我看汤姆·克鲁斯时，我希望看到我认识的那个汤姆·克鲁斯，而不是化着浓妆的他。”

这部电影登上大银幕的历程颇为曲折。最初由伊纳里图在Netflix开发，该项目最终在时任电影部门主管迈克尔·德卢卡和帕梅拉·阿布迪的领导下落户华纳兄弟。他们批准了《Digger》作为与克鲁斯非排他性协议的首个项目，据称是基于克鲁斯和伊纳里图的联合号召力来证明其1.25亿美元的制作成本（后增至1.6亿美元）。事后看来，这一决定已成为审查的焦点，尤其是在德卢卡和阿布迪因持续的Skydance合并谈判而最近离开华纳兄弟之际。

业内人士经常指出，要约束像克鲁斯这样量级的明星是一个挑战。一位参与《碟中谍》系列的高层人士评论道：“问题在于克鲁斯身边没有人能告诉他‘不’，或者告诉他什么可能行不通。”然而，德卢卡和阿布迪此前曾表现出拒绝的意愿，特别是他们拒绝了克鲁斯耗资2.7亿美元的宏大水下惊悚片《Deeper》以及迈克尔·曼执导的《盗火线》的续集（预算1.6亿美元）。

尽管遭遇了这次重大失误，《Digger》不太可能完全颠覆克鲁斯传奇般的职业生涯。他的电影作品在53部影片中累计票房已超过140亿美元。虽然《Digger》曾被设想为一部潜在的颁奖季竞争者，但其高昂的预算（对于许多人现在认为是艺术电影而言）意味着它需要广泛的商业吸引力，而它根本无法实现。这部电影有力地提醒人们，即使是最伟大的明星和最受赞誉的导演，在观众期望与创意愿景发生碰撞时，也可能失手。

<figure><div><p><img srcset="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg 7842w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=630,420 630w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=60,40 60w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=352,235 352w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=900,600 900w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=110,73 110w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=285,190 285w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=800,533 800w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?resize=1280,853 1280w" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" alt="Emmanuel Lubezki, Pamela Abdy, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Tom Cruise, Mary Parent, Andy Sherman and Michael De Luca attend the 'Digger' premiere on Sept. 22, 2026 in London, England." src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/GettyImages-2296620940.jpg?w=300"></p></div><figcaption><span>Emmanuel Lubezki, Pamela Abdy, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Tom Cruise, Mary Parent, Andy Sherman and Michael De Luca attend the ‘Digger’ premiere on Sept. 22, 2026 in London, England.</span><cite>Joe Maher/Getty Images</cite></figcaption></figure>

<figure><div><p><img srcset="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg 1782w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=150,100 150w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=630,420 630w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=60,40 60w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=352,235 352w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=900,600 900w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=110,73 110w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=285,190 285w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=320,214 320w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=800,534 800w, https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?resize=1280,854 1280w" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" alt="" src="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Magnolia-2.jpg?w=300"></p></div><figcaption><span>Cruise and Jason Robards Jr. in ‘Magnolia’ </span></figcaption></figure>