John Goodman Says Critics ‘‘Killed’’ Digger Before It Opened

Overview

• Goodman told the Happy Sad Confused podcast Monday that negative pre‑release headlines “kinda killed us before we even opened,” saying bad early coverage gave audiences a reason to skip the film.
• Digger opened in early October to weak ticket sales and has made only mid‑tens of millions worldwide against widely reported production and marketing costs that leave studio losses projected in the hundreds of millions.
• Critics were divided, with a roughly 53% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, while audience ratings ran substantially higher, creating a sharp critical‑audience split that supporters cite in the film’s defense.
• Coverage traces the film’s rocky rollout to brisk social‑media reactions from a late‑October UK premiere and a marketing shift that later leaned into the controversy with “decide for yourself” messaging.
• High‑profile artists have publicly defended the movie and Goodman, and industry analysts say the flop could make studios more cautious about greenlighting expensive, director‑driven original films while the movie’s defenders argue it may be reappraised over time.