Brad Pitt’s highly anticipated Formula One racing drama, “F1 The movie,” has just ignited the summer box office, racing to an astonishing $144 million global debut. This electrifying performance marks a pivotal moment, securing the film Apple’s biggest box office opening ever and setting a new personal record for star Brad Pitt. Directed by “Top Gun: Maverick” helmer Joseph Kosinski and produced by hitmaker Jerry Bruckheimer, alongside Pitt’s own Plan B Entertainment, the movie roared past analyst expectations, signaling a powerful start for the high-stakes production.
The film captivated audiences worldwide, pulling in $55.6 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada and a robust $88.4 million across international markets. This impressive haul significantly outpaced earlier projections, which had estimated a domestic debut between $40 million and $50 million for the non-sequel racing feature. Key international territories contributed strongly, with the United Kingdom leading at $9.2 million, followed closely by China at $9 million and Mexico at $6.7 million. The global phenomenon of Formula 1 racing clearly played a major role in driving these overseas numbers.
Apple’s Historic Theatrical Breakthrough
For Apple Original Films, the success of “F1 The Movie” represents a landmark achievement. While Apple TV+ has garnered critical acclaim for its streaming series like “Severance” and “The Studio,” and even secured a Best Picture Oscar with “CODA,” its previous ventures into major theatrical releases had struggled to find significant box office traction.
Big-budget, star-studded films like the 2024 spy comedy “Argylle,” Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” had underperformed in cinemas relative to their investment. “F1” breaks that pattern emphatically, proving Apple can indeed deliver a major commercial hit on the big screen. This debut is reportedly the largest for an Apple film to date, comfortably surpassing even the global totals of films like “Napoleon” ($221 million). This validates Apple’s strategy of investing heavily in high-profile talent and expansive productions to compete not just in streaming but also within the traditional theatrical landscape, although their sometimes unconventional marketing tactics, like inserting ads into the Wallet app, have drawn some criticism.
Brad Pitt’s Career-Best Opening
Beyond its significance for Apple, the $144 million global opening of “F1 The Movie” marks the strongest debut weekend of Brad Pitt’s entire acting career. This performance comfortably overtakes his previous record, held by the zombie thriller “World War Z,” which opened with $112 million back in 2013. The film reinforces Pitt’s enduring star power and ability to draw audiences to theaters, particularly when combined with a visually spectacular concept like Formula One racing.
Fueling the Success: What Drove ‘F1’ to the Top?
The film’s impressive box office sprint wasn’t accidental. Several factors combined to create a must-see cinematic event that resonated with both racing fans and general audiences.
The Critical Power of Large Format Screens
A significant driver of the film’s domestic and global success was its prominent release on large-screen formats, especially IMAX. Data from the opening weekend shows that IMAX screens accounted for $12.8 million in North America, representing a substantial 23% of the domestic revenue. Globally, IMAX contributed an impressive $27.7 million to the total haul, making up 19% of the film’s worldwide opening weekend. This percentage places the film’s IMAX contribution as the fourth-highest percentage of opening weekend revenue from IMAX screens in the company’s history.
IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond highlighted that the film’s realistic racing sequences and technical innovation, pushed by Kosinski and Bruckheimer, made it “tailormade for IMAX.” Overall, around 55% of the film’s domestic ticket sales came from premium large-screen formats, including IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and motion seats, underscoring that audiences are willing to pay more for an immersive viewing experience for films like this.
Positive Reviews and Strong Audience Reception
Beyond the spectacle, the film also benefited from positive word-of-mouth and solid critical scores. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore awarded the movie an impressive “A” grade, indicating strong approval and a positive sign for future performance. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film held a respectable 83% “fresh” rating among critics.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer emphasized the film’s narrative strengths, noting its blend of emotional depth, excitement, romance, and humor. He described it as the type of film designed to thrill audiences on the big screen and provide a compelling journey. Zack Van Amburg, head of worldwide video for Apple, echoed this sentiment, stating that the debut reflected both the inherent excitement of Formula 1 and the “deeply emotional and entertaining story” crafted by the creative team. This combination of visual spectacle and engaging storytelling proved to be a winning formula.
Navigating the Road Ahead: Profitability Challenges
While the opening numbers are undeniably strong, “F1 The Movie” faces a significant challenge on the road to profitability due to its substantial budget. Reported production costs range from over $200 million to nearly $250 million, and that figure does not include extensive global marketing expenses. Films typically need to earn roughly 2.5 times their production budget worldwide to break even, factoring in marketing costs and the cut taken by theaters.
This means the film will need to maintain strong ticket sales performance over the coming weeks and months to recoup its investment. Distributed theatrically by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film adds to that studio’s recent string of successes, sharing revenue with Apple as part of the distribution agreement. Brad Pitt stars as veteran driver Sonny Hayes in the film, which also features Damson Idris as an emerging F1 talent.
A Look at the Broader Box Office Race
“F1 The Movie”‘s debut occurred within a busy summer movie season. While it sped to the top, the broader box office landscape shows a mix of hits and misses. Only three films released earlier this year had managed to gross over $500 million globally before “F1″‘s arrival: “A Minecraft Movie,” “Lilo & Stitch,” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” Each of these films had opened stronger domestically than “F1.”
In contrast to “F1″‘s success, the horror sequel “M3GAN 2.0” from Universal and Blumhouse had a disappointing debut, earning only $10 million domestically and $7 million internationally for a $17 million global start. This fell far short of expectations and the original “M3GAN”‘s performance, although its relatively modest $25 million budget limits potential losses.
The continued strength of family-friendly films is evident with Universal’s live-action “How to Train Your Dragon” adding $32 million internationally in its third week, pushing its global total past $454 million. Similarly, Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch” remains a powerhouse, adding $13.1 million internationally and nearing the $1 billion mark globally with $946 million after six weekends. However, this trend isn’t universal, as Disney/Pixar’s animated “Elio” has struggled significantly, marking Pixar’s worst opening weekend ever and accumulating only $73 million worldwide after two weekends against a $150 million budget.
Despite some disappointments, the horror genre has seen overall strong performance in recent months, starting with Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” which has grossed $364 million worldwide, followed by hits like “Final Destination Bloodlines” and the zombie revival “28 Years Later.”
Setting a New Standard for Racing Films?
Comparisons to other prominent racing movies highlight the scale of “F1 The Movie”‘s opening. Its $144 million global debut significantly outpaced the opening weekends of critically acclaimed films like “Ford v Ferrari” and “Rush.” This robust performance suggests a potential shift, demonstrating to Hollywood studios that motorsport stories, when executed with scale, star power, and technical prowess suitable for large formats, can resonate widely and achieve major commercial success. This could potentially pave the way for more racing-themed projects in the future.
The film is expected to maintain momentum in the coming weeks, potentially benefiting from the upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend in the U.S. Positive word-of-mouth stemming from the strong audience reception is also anticipated to support its continued run before its eventual streaming debut on Apple TV+.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Brad Pitt’s F1 movie earn on its opening weekend globally and domestically?
Brad Pitt’s “F1 The Movie” achieved a massive global opening weekend of $144 million. This total includes $55.6 million earned in the United States and Canada and $88.4 million from international markets worldwide. This performance significantly exceeded analyst expectations for a non-sequel racing film.
What key factors explain the strong box office performance of the F1 movie?
Several elements contributed to the film’s success. Its release on premium large formats like IMAX was crucial, accounting for a significant percentage of revenue due to the immersive racing visuals. Strong audience reception, indicated by a CinemaScore “A” grade and an 83% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, generated positive word-of-mouth. The global popularity of Formula 1 racing and the star power of Brad Pitt also played vital roles in driving attendance both domestically and internationally.
What does the F1 movie’s box office success mean for Apple Original Films and Brad Pitt?
For Apple Original Films, this debut marks their biggest box office opening and their first major commercial hit in theaters, validating their high-investment strategy after previous films struggled theatrically. For Brad Pitt, the $144 million global opening weekend is the strongest of his career, surpassing his previous record set by “World War Z,” reinforcing his status as a major box office draw.
Conclusion
“F1 The Movie” has certainly started its engine with incredible velocity at the global box office. Its $144 million opening is a clear triumph for Apple Original Films, securing their first major theatrical hit, and a career highlight for star Brad Pitt. The film’s success underscores the combined power of global sports appeal, A-list talent, positive audience reception, and a technical presentation designed for the big screen, particularly premium formats like IMAX. While the movie still faces the significant hurdle of its high production budget to achieve profitability, its powerful debut sets a strong foundation and potentially signals a bright future for both Apple’s theatrical ambitions and the visibility of motorsport films in Hollywood. All eyes will be on its performance in the coming weeks to see just how far this racing saga can go.
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