Warner Bros. pulls ad that contrasted U.S. and foreign reviews of Tom Cruise's "Digger"

Warner Bros. has taken down an online advertisement for Tom Cruise's new film "Digger" after it drew criticism for juxtaposing negative American reviews with favorable foreign ones. The black-comedy, directed by Alejandro Iñárritu, earned about $8 million in the United States against a reported $180 million budget, prompting the studio to promote the movie with a comparative review montage.

The now-deleted ad featured Cruise's character, Digger Rockwell, delivering a line about America’s past solidarity, followed by a series of review excerpts marked with national flags. A Mexican YouTuber’s comment described the film as “epic, extraordinary and biting,” while an American-flagged review from Playlist called it “grotesque, deliberately tacky.” A French critic called the film “a gem of intelligence,” and a New York Post excerpt labeled it “an unintentionally bad movie.” The spot concluded with the character urging viewers, “You decide which!”

A separate promotional video posted by the film’s official account showed the movie’s 51 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, displayed two negative reviews, and ended with the character saying, “You know what, f*** those people,” followed by the caption “You decide.”

The Independent reached out to Warner Bros. for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.

"Digger is the kind of film that exists entirely on its own merits, and almost dares the audience to dislike it," wrote Jacob Stolworthy of The Independent.

Critics offered mixed reactions; Clarisse Loughrey gave the film two stars, noting that while Cruise delivers a strong performance, the movie lacks sufficient edge to fully succeed.

"Digger" remains in theaters.