The old adage about one person's misfortune being another's gain seems to be playing out in the strange world of celebrity-adjacent cinema. Staffers close to Melania Trump have been quick to point out the box office struggles of Alejandro González Iñárritu's Digger, starring Tom Cruise as an oil tycoon whose greed triggers an environmental catastrophe. The film opened to a meager $8 million domestically and $20 million worldwide, against a production budget of up to $180 million plus hefty marketing costs. Projections suggest losses could reach $200 million, making it one of 2026's most spectacular flops.
Rather than offering sympathy, Marc Beckman, a senior advisor to Melania Trump, took to X to crow about the comparative success of the biographical documentary Melania, released earlier this year. Beckman wrote: “On a per-theater basis, MELANIA outperformed Tom Cruise’s DIGGER by approximately 67%, despite opening in roughly half as many theaters.”
While Melania did gross a respectable $16.7 million in US cinemas for a non-fiction feature, the financial picture is far from rosy. Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for the rights and spent another $35 million on marketing, meaning the film still represents a significant loss for the streaming giant. Critics were quick to note that comparing a low-budget documentary to a big-budget studio tentpole is apples and oranges, and many pointed out that both projects are money-losers.
A tale of two cinematic disasters
Euronews Culture's review of Digger called it “both the boldest film of 2026 and this year’s wildest misfire,” praising the ambition while lamenting the execution. The review noted that Iñárritu's high-concept gambit ultimately leaves viewers with a “bloated folly that’s both hollow and heavy-handed.” Still, the film's defenders argue that its audacity deserves credit, even if the result feels like empty theatrics.
By contrast, Melania was dismissed by our critics as a “self-congratulatory portrait of privilege” and a “soul-crushingly bleak” exercise in vanity. Documentary filmmaker Raoul Peck, in an interview for his 2026 film Orwell: 2+2=5, was even more scathing: “First of all, I wouldn't call that a film. It’s not even propaganda, because propaganda can be more intelligent. This is basically a publicity stunt. It’s a bribe.” Peck added that no ethical documentarian would accept a project where the subject serves as executive producer and controls the narrative.
Put simply, comparing Digger to Melania is like comparing Citizen Kane to a home movie. That may be a backhanded compliment, but it underscores the gulf in ambition and craft between the two projects.
For European audiences, the saga offers a curious glimpse into the intersection of politics, celebrity, and cinema. The Melania documentary, produced with the former first lady's full cooperation, has been widely criticized as a propaganda piece, while Digger—despite its flaws—at least attempts to engage with serious themes like environmental destruction and corporate greed. As Tom Cruise's 'Digger' flops hard, the film's failure may say more about audience fatigue with star-driven spectacles than about the quality of the work itself.
Meanwhile, the gloating from Melania's camp seems misplaced, given that Melania also failed to turn a profit. The comparison, as many online noted, is not just inappropriate but also reveals a certain desperation to claim victory in a battle where both sides lost. As box office records are reclaimed by blockbusters, the fate of these two films serves as a reminder that not all cinematic ventures are created equal.
In the end, the Digger debacle and the Melania documentary both highlight the risks of high-concept filmmaking and the perils of mixing politics with entertainment. For European cinephiles, the takeaway may be that true artistry rarely emerges from such calculated ventures, whether they aim for Oscar gold or political influence.
