The facts
Tom Cruise's latest film, 'Digger,' is predicted to lose $250 million, potentially due to audience fatigue with 'eat-the-rich' satire. This trend, which saw a surge in popularity following the success of 'Parasite' and the increased focus on wealth inequality during the Covid-19 pandemic, includes films like 'Glass Onion,' 'Saltburn,' 'Triangle of Sadness,' and 'The Menu.' Television series such as 'Succession' and 'The White Lotus' also capitalized on this theme. However, recent releases like 'Ready or Not 2,' 'They Will Kill You,' 'Rosebush Pruning,' and 'I Love Boosters' have also underperformed at the box office. Even the anthology series 'Beef' saw a decline in viewership when it shifted to class satire. 'Digger' is seen as the most high-profile casualty of this trend's decline. The article suggests that while public sentiment against the super-rich is growing, as evidenced by poll data from YouGov in Britain and the US, pop culture's attempts to satirize them are met with exhaustion. This exhaustion is linked to the prevalence of 'doomscrolling' and the perception that such films offer predictable commentary, akin to agreeing with a political statement rather than finding humor. The irony is noted that 'Digger' is the final film from Warner Bros. as an independent studio, with its themes mirroring potential changes under new ownership.
Our take
Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw. It turns out the most oppressed class in modern society isn't the working poor, it’s the fragile fucking egos of Hollywood executives who thought we’d never get tired of watching the same rich-people-are-assholes story for the tenth fucking time. Audiences are ‘exhausted’ by eat-the-rich satire? No shit, Sherlock. We’re exhausted because you grifting, tone-deaf cunts in the writer’s room have been serving us the same lukewarm, moralizing gruel since ‘Parasite,’ and you’re somehow shocked we don’t want another bowl? The ‘predictable commentary’ you’re peddling isn’t a bold political statement; it’s the cinematic equivalent of your drunk uncle nodding along to a Bernie Sanders tweet. It requires zero courage and offers zero new insight, just a smug, self-congratulatory pat on the back for agreeing that, yes, wealth inequality is bad. Wow, what a fucking revelation. Tell that to Tom Cruise, whose latest cinematic masterpiece ‘Digger’ is about to take a $250 million dump directly into Warner Bros.’s golden toilet. The beautiful irony is that this film, a satire of corporate greed, is the last gasp of the old, ‘independent’ Warner Bros. before it gets swallowed by another mega-conglomerate. The movie is literally about the thing that’s killing it. That’s not satire, you dickheads, that’s just the universe writing a better joke than you ever could. Maybe the problem isn’t that we hate the rich. Maybe it’s that we hate watching lazy, overpaid filmmakers pretend they’re brave crusaders for recycling the most obvious take of the decade while cashing a studio check. Go figure. The only thing getting eaten here is your budget, you pretentious fucks. Bon appétit.
