Inside ‘weird’ and ‘controlled’ Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ press event and why Hollywood is ditching film critic influencers
Hollywood studios have fallen under the influence of influencers. Increasingly, major studios are cutting peskily unpredictable journalists and critics out of their pre-release strategies in a world where a movie-loving TikToker named Straw Hat Goofy might be the industry’s new Pauline Kael.
Reported by 1 outlet — New York Post. See all sources ↓
Warner Bros. held a trailer launch for Tom Cruise's new thriller Digger on July 9. The event was attended mainly by social media influencers, with a few trade reporters and Tom Cruise himself. Traditional critics and journalists were largely excluded. The press event was described as weird and tightly controlled.
Why it matters
This shift shows studios now prefer influencers over traditional critics to control movie promotion. It changes what audiences hear about new films before they see them.
- What movie was promoted at the event?
- Tom Cruise's thriller Digger was promoted.
- Who mainly attended the press event?
- Mostly social media influencers attended, along with a few trade reporters and Tom Cruise.
- Why are studios turning to influencers instead of critics?
- Studios want more predictable and controllable promotion than what unpredictable critics might give.
How outlets are framing the same story
Here's how each outlet is covering the story — compare their headlines and timing at a glance.
Only one outlet provided the story, so all sources frame it the same way.
- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
Inside ‘weird’ and ‘controlled’ Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ press event and why Hollywood is ditching film critic influencers
Sources1TypeCoverageNew York Post