Last updated on 1 October 2026.
The director who helped Leonardo DiCaprio win his first Best Actor Oscar has now made a movie with Tom Cruise. So, is this Digger the Oscar-worthy movie that Cruise is waiting for? Maybe not.
Digger Release Guide for Indian Fans
1) When is Digger releasing in India?
Tom Cruise’s Digger releases in India on 2 October 2026.
But if you want to watch it first, paid previews (or early screenings) began one night early on 1 October at a few movie theatres.
Digger will compete with Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam: The Conclusion, Fahadh Faasil’s Don’t Trouble the Trouble, and Anne Hathaway’s Verity in Indian cinemas, all releasing in the long holiday weekend.
Interestingly, Fahadh Faasil auditioned for a role in Digger. More on that later.
2) In which languages will it be released?
Digger will be released in India only in English. No official Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, or other dubbed versions are made.
This is surprising, to be honest, as Tom Cruise is one of the most well-known movie stars in the world, with a huge fan base even in India. His last 2 Mission: Impossible films grossed over ₹100 crores at the Indian box office.
So, with Cruise as the main star and Warner Bros. India, Hollywood’s best distributors in the country, handling the film, I don’t get why it is not getting a wide release in more regional languages.
However, if the film performs well at the box office or somehow gets nominated for Oscars, dubbed versions may arrive on streaming.
3) Who is in the cast?
Tom Cruise leads the cast of Digger and is joined by several well-known actors. The confirmed cast includes:
- Tom Cruise as Digger Rockwell
- Riz Ahmed as Ganesh
- John Goodman as President Compson
- Sandra Hüller as Emma Rockwell
- Michael Stuhlbarg
- Jesse Plemons
- Emma D’Arcy (Queen Rhaenyra from “House of The Dragon”)
However, the marketing of the movie is all about Tom Cruise from the first teaser, highlighting his legacy as an actor and presenting Digger as one of the most ambitious projects of his career.
It is directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, whose 2015 film The Revenant earned Leonardo DiCaprio his first Best Actor Oscar. So, maybe Cruise partnered with him to win an Academy Award himself this time.
In this movie, Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, a powerful oil businessman whose actions lead to a major disaster. He now must deal with the consequences of his own decisions in this black-comedy flick.
While the premise looks intriguing, it has divided the critics and fans. Some have praised its dark humour and Cruise’s performance, while others were confused (and bored) with its messy plot.
4) Did Fahadh Faasil audition for a role in Digger?
Malayalam actor Fahadh Faasil auditioned for the role of Ganesh in Digger, but it eventually went to Riz Ahmed.
Faasil is known for his performances in Malayalam films such as Aavesham, Joji, Malik, and played the villain in Allu Arjun’s Pushpa movies.
He didn’t reveal the exact role but has talked about his audition for Digger. He spoke with director Iñárritu over a video call. It was going well, but the filmmaker didn’t like his accent.
So, he was asked to spend a few months in the U.S. to work on it.
He said in an interview with Cue Studio (translated from Malayalam):
“It was not exactly that he rejected my audition. His main concern was my accent. I was told that I would have to go to America and stay there for 3 and a half to 4 months to work on it. There was no payment for that period, and that was one of the reasons I decided to let it go.
I could have gone there and put in that much effort to get the accent right, but I did not feel that kind of passion or excitement for it.
There was no audition. I spoke to him during a meeting over a video call. We had a conversation, and after that, he may have felt that I was not the person he was looking for.”
From his perspective, the time and effort required to perfect his accent were not worth it for that role. He felt it would not work out and lost interest.
Now, fans are finding similarities between Faahad Fassil and how Riz looks in the movie. Just look at it yourself:
Another coincidence is that the character Ganesh is from Kerala. Riz confirmed this fact in a THR India interview:
“ It’s interesting because the reason I chose Kerala was because of the surname Ganesh and how that’s more common in South Indian immigrants as well … I also wanted the connection to the sea and that kind of stuff in his heritage, since he’s interested in the environment and the oceans.”
All dots connect that this is the role which Faasil tried for.
5) Is Digger connected to another movie?
No. Digger is an original film and is not part of an existing movie franchise. It is not a sequel, prequel, or spin-off of another film. Director Iñárritu first got the idea for this story shortly after completing The Revenant. The film took nearly a decade to develop.
This also comes as a refresher in Tom Cruise’s career, where he was either playing Ethan Hunt in his Mission: Impossible movies or Captain Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick for about a decade. This is his first original standalone film after such a long time.
Digger allows him to take on an original character in a story that combines comedy and drama, rather than being an action hero.
6) Was Digger filmed for IMAX or Premium Formats?
Digger was shot entirely using VistaVision, a high-resolution film format that offers a wider film area for capturing images. VistaVision uses a horizontal film frame to capture more image detail. But India doesn’t have these projectors.
So, if you want the best experience, the best movie format in India is IMAX.
Digger is shot in a unique 1.50:1 aspect ratio, which fits best on IMAX’s 1.90:1 aspect ratio screens, with black bars on the sides.
The same is true for other FLAT 1.85:1 aspect ratio screens in India. You can find FLAT screens in your city here.
If you watch it on a regular Scope screen, the bars will be much wider.
It is also showing in IMAX GT Laser theatres, which have a 1.43:1 aspect ratio, but such theatres are not available in India.
However, despite being a major release, Digger is not available in many other premium formats, such as EPIQ and Dolby Cinema.
Only Hyderabadi people have multiple options. You can watch it on Prasad’s PCX screen. I also found 2 shows in AMB Cinemas’ HDR by BARCO and one in Allu Cinemas’ Dolby Cinema screen in Hyderabad.
7) Is the Digger movie censored in India?
Digger has received an A certificate from the CBFC in India. This means you can only watch the movie if you are aged 18 and above.
It was also rated R for pervasive language in the USA, which is equivalent to an A certificate in our country.
The good news is that no scenes are being cut. The runtime is 2 hours and 9 minutes.
However, some things can still be blurred, or words can be muted. This is because studios sometimes self-censor movies before submitting for film certification.
8) When and where will Digger stream in India?
Because Digger is distributed by Warner Bros., it is likely to land on HBO Max in the US. This streaming service is not available in India, but Warner Bros. has a partnership with Reliance’s Jio for local distribution.
Digger will be streaming on JioHotstar. The digital release date is yet to be announced.
Based on past WB catalog releases this year, we will have to wait for at least 3 months to watch it on the small screen.
9) Is there any post-credit scene?
Yes, there is a mid-credits scene in Digger.
It’s most likely going to be a comedy scene rather than a setup for a sequel.
11) What is Digger’s box-office collection in India?
I will update when the box-office collections start rolling.
Till 1 October, according to Sacnilk’s booking tracker, the movie has collected approximately ₹1 crore worth of tickets for its opening day.
Takeaways
Now you know everything about Digger’s India release, including date, dubbing, cast, IMAX, and streaming.
And if you don’t know who I am? I am Ranish Chauhan, a.k.a. Fulmino Fan, and I love Marvel & DC Superheroes and Sci-Fi movies. You can also check out my YouTube channel.