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What do we say about a person’s misfortune…? Well, Melania Trump’s team seems to be embracing this opportunistic sentiment when it comes to Excavator Box office woes.
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As reported earlier this weekthe film from Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu Excavatorstarring Tom Cruise as a powerful oil tycoon who triggers an environmental disaster, earned only $8 million in the United States and $20 million total worldwide in its opening weekend.
Considering Excavator had a production budget of up to $180 million (plus significant marketing), that means the divisive film is poised to become one of the biggest failures of 2026 with losses estimated at between $150 million and $200 million.
As if that wasn’t bad news enough, some indulge in schadenfreude and rejoice…
Marc Beckman, senior advisor to Melania Trump, posted a comparison online, saying Cruise’s satire was outdone by the biopic. Melanie released earlier this year.
“On a theatrical basis, MELANIA outperformed Tom Cruise’s DIGGER by about 67%, despite opening in about half as many theaters,” Beckman wrote on X.
Granted, Melanie was a success in American theaters for a non-fiction film, ultimately grossing $16.7 million. However, since Amzon spent $40 million to acquire the documentary and $35 million to market it, which is still a significant loss.
Following Beckman’s message, many were quick to point out that the comparison between Melanie And Excavator was not appropriate. Check out some of the reactions below:
Regardless Excavator The woes, you have to hand it to Iñárritu and Cruise for delivering an ambitious piece of cinema.
In Euronews Culture’s analysis of Excavatorwe said that the director had made “both the most daring film of 2026 and the craziest failure of this year”.
“It’s difficult to write more about Digger without spoiling Iñárritu’s brave but misguided gamble, but it’s safe to say that once he pulls the rug out from under the audience, he leaves viewers with a boatload of madness that is both hollow and heavy-handed.”
We also noted that “great concepts should always be applauded,” even if they end up feeling like “empty theaters.” Read the full review here.
Conversely, when examining Melanie earlier this year we wrote that it was a “self-righteous portrait of a privileged person, singularly indifferent to the exploitation of anything beyond the surface” and that it was both “despicable” and “terribly dark.” Read the full review here.
In simple terms, compared to Melanie, Excavator East Citizen Kane. Although this may be a backhanded compliment, that the comparison seems appropriate.
Euronews Culture interviewed documentary filmmaker Raoul Peck for his film 2026 Orwell: 2+2=5in which the filmmaker talks about Melanie film: “First of all, I wouldn’t call it a film. It’s not even propaganda, because propaganda can be smarter. It’s basically a publicity stunt. It’s a bribe.”
“This movie was made because a network could spend $40 million to make it. I know a lot of other filmmakers who would have loved to have that much money to make a more compelling movie.”
He added: “Ethically speaking, no documentarian would agree to make a film where the subject is the executive producer of the film and who, in fact, takes the controls. That is ethically unacceptable. That is why I cannot call it a film.”
Gn entert
