John Goodman blames film critics for burying Digger before its release: "It kinda killed us"

The instant cult classic's box office failure "hurt" John Goodman, but he's been in this position many times before.

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  November 2, 2026 | 3:22pm
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
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John Goodman blames film critics for burying Digger before its release:

No movie as grand, unpleasant, and expensive as Digger is going quietly into that good night. After the film opened to mixed reviews, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s pitch-black, loud-as-hell climate change satire about climate change satires opened to a minuscule box office, putting it on track to become one of the biggest Hollywood fiascos in history. But in the month since its release, numerous celebrities have come to Tom Cruise’s and the film’s defense, including Mandy Patinkin, who called it one of the greatest films he’s ever seen; Ben Affleck, who begged people to stop bullying a movie that enjoyed every benefit and advantage that a Hollywood movie could ask for; and, more recently, Bill Burr, who ranted on his podcast about how critics were the real Fossil Fools for misunderstanding the movie. Online, the so-called Digger Hive has been fanning the flame of Digger respect, taking critics to task for calling the movie “not that funny.” Another celebrity, this time one closer to the production, has also blamed critics for burying Digger: John Goodman. 

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Goodman says that the reviews “hurt” and “kinda killed us before we even opened.” In his estimation, headlines like “‘This will only make $5′” were “good reason for people to avoid it.” However, maybe we’re misremembering, but the marketing for this movie was so confusing in its attempt to hide the film’s big twist that would-be ticket buyers wondered if maybe Digger was a secret musical. Nevertheless, the all-powerful movie critics, the same ones who take buyouts from Marvel and DC in exchange for good reviews and panned Taika Waititi’s Klara And The Sun, are to blame for Digger‘s failure. However, Goodman admits, as he’s gotten older, it’s become harder for him to shake off the negative reviews. “Maybe I am getting old and pathetic and it’s like, ‘Don’t hit me again!’ I put so much into this film, and here you go. I am over it now. I am proud I did it.” Though Goodman tried to “toughen” himself up reading The New Yorker‘s write-up, which he thought was “actually, a great review.” 

But the critics’ displeasure at being shouted at by a movie hasn’t changed Goodman’s opinion on his work. “I am proud of it,” says Goodman, who plays the film’s cancer-of-the-asshole-having President Compson. “I had a ball doing it. It was a good six months out of my life. It is a huge swing. It’s going to be around for a long time.” 

Goodman has been through all this before. “Everything I have done for the Coen Brothers flopped initially, so who cares, man? I still have people coming up to me in the streets asking me about Barton Fink and Big Lebowski.” Digger is trending in the same direction. As Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz points out, other mega-budgeted movies starring Goodman, like Speed Racer, were also critically reviled bombs that have, in the years since, found their champions. Similarly, Digger was immediately reappraised and found its audience, meaning the Digger discourse probably won’t subside anytime soon. 

 
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