The F1 Movie has had a great opening weekend, but will it be enough to encourage the streaming services to back theatrical?
As all F1 fans know, the start is all-important. Even for the driver in pole position, if they’re slow off the mark as the lights go out, they could be beaten to the first corner, and instead of dominating, suddenly they are struggling to keep up. It’s the same for movies. While there are exceptions, all too often, if things don’t go to plan on the opening weekend, as far as the headlines go, its race is run, and the movie is deemed a flop.
It’s great news, then, that F1: The Movie has enjoyed a successful launch, taking $55m in the USA and Canada and over $140 million worldwide in its opening weekend. The movie was shot with IMAX digital cameras and presented in the IMAX 1.90:1 aspect ratio for its whole length, so it’s no surprise that IMAX contributed $28 million of that opening figure, accounting for 19% of the total.
This makes it the most successful global opening for an Apple-backed movie release so far, out-pacing Napoleon (2023) with $78.8 million and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) with its $44 million (worldwide opening weekend).
