‘F1’ is Apple’s big-budget racing drama starring Brad Pitt. The iPhone maker was hoping for its first genuine box office hit.
The Brad Pitt-led racing film “F1 The Movie” sped to the top of the box office this weekend, another in a string of big summer movies that Hollywood hopes will keep driving people to theaters.
The big-budget film from “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer hauled in $55.6 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates. That’s better than analysts had expected for a non-sequel racing movie. People who read pre-release audience surveys had anticipated a debut of $40 million to $50 million.
Powered by the global appeal of Formula One racing, the film took in an additional $88 million internationally. Still, with a reported budget of more than $200 million, not including marketing costs, “F1” will still need significantly more ticket sales to break even.
Only three Hollywood films so far this year have grossed more than $500 million globally — “A Minecraft Movie,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” — and each of those opened above “F1.”
Nonetheless, with “F1,” the iPhone maker has its first box office hit.
While Apple TV+ has found critical success with its shows, including “Severance,” “The Studio” and “Your Friends & Neighbors” — and notched its first best picture Oscar win in 2022 with “CODA” — its films had not yet clinched box office gold.
