Ben Affleck Objects to Glee Over Tom Cruise Film’s Failure, Warns on Creative Risk-Taking

When a big-budget film fails to meet box-office expectations, discussion and criticism are natural. But how reasonable is it to celebrate that failure? That is the question actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck has raised after Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ fell short of expectations.

Speaking recently on a podcast, Affleck voiced his displeasure over the reaction to ‘Digger’. In his view, if a film’s financial success or failure becomes the main yardstick of judgment, filmmakers will be discouraged from taking risks with new kinds of stories, and cinema’s creativity will suffer.

‘Digger’ is one of the lowest North American opening performers among Tom Cruise’s films of the past roughly two decades. The film was released worldwide on 2 October. After it failed to earn as expected, the big-budget production drew widespread criticism and mockery.

According to AFP figures, the film earned about 14.4 million dollars in North America in its first two weeks, with worldwide takings of about 35.3 million dollars.

By contrast, Variety estimates the film cost an estimated 160 to 180 million dollars to make. A further roughly 100 million dollars was spent on promotion. Altogether, the prospect of a large loss has emerged.

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, ‘Digger’ stars Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell, an eccentric oil businessman. Cruise appears in an unusual look, in the guise of an old man.

In the story, the oil businessman’s actions trigger an environmental crisis around the world. Themes such as corporate greed and control over storytelling feature in the film.

The cast also includes Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. Despite that star-studded line-up, the film could not come close to box-office expectations.

Affleck argues that when audiences and critics judge a film mainly by its earnings, production companies too may lean toward formula-made films instead of new kinds of stories.

Yet taking risks is essential for exceptional, quality cinema. Not every big project will achieve its expected financial success — that is only natural. But if fear of failure stops filmmakers from taking risks, Hollywood will end up dominated by monotonous, safe and predictable films, he believes.

Such financial results, he says, should not be allowed to discourage a creative effort, because the loss would not be only the filmmaker’s but the entire film industry’s. The debate over ‘Digger’’s performance thus now goes beyond one film’s ledger to questions about Hollywood’s future way of telling stories.