“F1: The Movie” starring Brad Pitt premiered last weekend to rave reviews and an impressive box office performance, proving once again that people will go to the movies… for the right film. So, what exactly does this film’s success say about the future of the industry?
Bloomberg’s Thomas Buckley joined KCBS Radio’s Holly Quan to discuss.
As of Tuesday, the film – based on the globally beloved FORMULA 1 car-racing sport – had taken in more than $57 million at the domestic box office and more than $146 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. It far outperformed the second box office attraction of the week, “How to Train Your Dragon” at a little under $20 million domestic.
“Now that sort of figure gives you an idea as to why Apple would be wanting to release a film such as F1, a globally popular… property in cinemas on the basis that it probably will guarantee a number of people going to see the film on opening weekend and beyond,” Buckley said of the F1 movie’s performance.
Forbes reported last December that F1 was the most popular yearly sporting series, citing a study from Nielsen Sports. Its audience at that time was 750 million, an increase of 50 million since 2021.
Quan said that Apple’s move to release “F1: The Movie” in theaters was a test of sorts. The tech company launched its Apple TV+ streaming service in 2019, and the platform is known for shows like “Ted Lasso” as well as “The Morning Show” and “Severance”. Buckley noted that it also premiered the Martin Scorsese-directed and Leonardo DiCaprio-starring 2023 film “Killers of the Flower Moon” in theaters.
“It had a bit of a mixed performance at the box office, so it started to roll back it’s big screen ambitions, but it’s back in full force with ‘F1’,” he said of Apple. “And as I mentioned, I think the fact that the property is globally beloved really ensures that a number of people are going to be seeing films such as these.”
A glance at Box Office Mojo’s best performing films in recent years backs up this observation. This year’s other successful release was “A Minecraft Movie” based off the popular video game, and 2023’s was Mattel toys-focused “Barbie”. Last year “Inside Out 2” – one of a long line of successful Pixar animated features – topped the box office. In 2022, it was “Top Gun: Maverick”, another sequel to a popular franchise, and in 2021 it was “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, the most recent output from the longtime Marvel Cinematic Universe powerhouse to come out on top at the box office.
Tom Cruise, the lead in “Top Gun: Maverick” has been seen at premieres of “F1: The Movie” and he even took to X to congratulate producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who worked with Cruise on the 1990 film “Days of Thunder.” Both Cruise and Pitt were box office draws in the 1990s and 2000s and Buckley said Pitt’s star power may be helping the performance of “F1”.
In the film, Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, an F1 star poised for greatness in the 1990s before an accident derails his career. He’s approached 30 years later by a former teammate (played by Javier Bardem) to drive alongside a “hotshot rookie” and save a struggling F1 team.
Looking to the future, Buckley said the film’s success shows that a theatrical release can be a powerful promotional tool. It also shows that theaters can still have a positive economic impact.
“Apple is able to recoup a percentage of its marketing spend as a result and also, if the film performs strongly enough over the course of the next month, it might even break even in theaters before it lands on Apple TV Plus,” he said of the “F1” release.
Looking to the future, he said that Apple is already partnering with Mattel to release a film based on its “Matchbox” toy vehicle line. A press release from Mattel said the film is expected to star John Cena.
“So perhaps we could see that in the big screen,” Buckley told Quan. “Mattel actually moved one of its films away from Netflix and over to Amazon in order to ensure theatrical release. So, perhaps having similar conversations with Apple about how to distribute this film in cinemas.”
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He said that Netflix is the major holdout in the streaming space that has said it will not release films in theaters. Many other companies in the business of producing films today, from tech giants like Apple and Amazon to studios like Universal, are opting for a mix of theatrical and streaming releases, based on their products.
“Releasing in theaters really puts a patina on the film, really speaks to its quality,” Buckley added.
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