Tom Cruise turned London’s Leicester Square into one of the year’s biggest red-carpet moments as his new film Digger celebrated its world premiere with Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, among the guests.

The premiere doubled as the 73rd Royal Film Performance, with proceeds supporting the UK’s Film & TV Charity, and brought together royalty, Hollywood stars and the cast of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s highly anticipated dark political comedy.

Tom Cruise meets the Prince and Princess of Wales

Prince William and Princess Catherine were among the first major arrivals to greet Cruise and Iñárritu on the carpet.

After speaking with the actor and director, the royal couple were introduced to members of the ensemble, with Cruise accompanying Catherine along the line while Iñárritu walked with William.

Cruise and the Prince of Wales also shared a lighthearted moment when the actor complimented William’s double-breasted velvet tuxedo jacket.

Catherine, meanwhile, arrived in a floor-length purple Jenny Packham gown, pairing the look with earrings previously worn by Princess Diana and an amethyst necklace associated with the Queen Mother.

Hollywood joined royalty in Leicester Square

The premiere brought together an unusually strong collection of actors and filmmakers.

Cruise was joined by Digger co-stars Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons, while Emma D’Arcy and Sophie Wilde were also among those attending.

Beyond the cast, the guest list included Salma Hayek, Hannah Waddingham, Jodie Turner-Smith, J.J. Abrams and David Beckham, who attended with sons Romeo and Cruz.

For a movie premiere, the evening had the scale of a major awards-season event — part royal engagement, part Hollywood gala and part introduction to one of Cruise’s most unusual roles in years.

Tom Cruise becomes Digger Rockwell

In Digger, Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an eccentric and enormously powerful oil tycoon facing the consequences of a catastrophe created by his own company.

The film follows Rockwell as he desperately attempts to convince the world that he can become humanity’s saviour before the disaster he helped unleash destroys everything.

At the premiere, Cruise described the character as unlike anything he had encountered before, calling Rockwell “totally outrageous” and emphasising how unusual the entire film felt during production.

The role also represents a major visual transformation for the actor, moving him far away from the polished action-hero image associated with Mission: Impossible and Top Gun.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu enters a very different world

The movie marks the latest project from Alejandro González Iñárritu, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Birdmanand The Revenant.

Rather than another conventional action vehicle for Cruise, Digger has been described as a dark satirical political comedy, combining environmental disaster, extreme wealth and questions about power with the filmmaker’s distinctive style.

Iñárritu has previously spoken about the scale of Cruise’s transformation, saying the actor brought decades of experience into creating Rockwell.

The collaboration has attracted particular attention because it places one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster stars inside the world of a director known for unconventional, often psychologically intense films.

A completely different kind of Tom Cruise performance

Cruise has spent much of the past decade pushing physical limits through increasingly elaborate action sequences.

Digger appears designed to challenge him in another direction.

Rather than hanging from aircraft or racing motorcycles through city streets, much of the attention surrounding the film has focused on character work, prosthetics, comedy and an extended 10-minute monologue filmed in one take.

Cruise has also described the creative process with Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki as highly exploratory, comparing their collaboration to musicians “playing jazz.”

That approach makes Digger one of the most unpredictable projects of Cruise’s recent career.

The Royal Film Performance returns

The premiere carried additional significance because it served as this year’s Royal Film Performance, a long-running event supporting people working behind the scenes in the UK film and television industry.

Money raised from the evening benefits the Film & TV Charity, which provides services including counselling, financial assistance and a 24-hour support line for industry professionals.

For the charity, the combination of Cruise, the royal family and one of the year’s most anticipated films gave the 2026 event an unusually high-profile return.

‘Digger’ heads to cinemas next

Following its London debut, Digger is scheduled to begin its international theatrical rollout on September 30, before opening in IMAX and across North America on October 2.

The combination of Cruise and Iñárritu was already enough to make the film one of the more intriguing releases of the year.

But its world premiere added another layer of spectacle.

With Prince William and Princess Catherine walking the carpet, David Beckham among the guests and Cruise unveiling one of the most unusual characters of his career, Digger arrived in London not simply as another movie premiere — but as a full-scale royal Hollywood event.