Apple Original Films has a new box office hit, with “F1: The Movie” starring Brad Pitt, which has surpassed $500 million in global box office revenue.
CNBC cites Comscore data showing the movie hitting $509 million in ticket sales as of the final weekend in July. This is a significant achievement for Apple Original Films, a division of Apple that produces and distributes movies for Apple TV+.
Apple changed the strategy, opting to show the film in theaters and IMAX screens before it eventually hits the Apple TV+ streaming service later this year. The gamble seems to be paying off; the movie has beaten the previous box office records held by Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” which earned $221 million in worldwide ticket sales.
Apple’s “F1: The Movie” surpasses $500 million box office earnings
The flick will earn even more as it’s still shown in cinemas worldwide, even though it had a limited IMAX availability due to other summer hits. “F1: The Movie” also beat “Superman” (out only two weeks) from Warner Brothers at $502 million.
It will make additional revenue from secondary sales to TV, premium on-demand video services, home rentals and more. It’s estimated that the movie had a budget of over $200 million, so it can be considered a financial success.
Buoyed by the success of the flick, Apple is rumored to be in talks to acquire TV rights to live coverage of Formula One races in the United States.
“F1: The Movie” has also beaten Apple’s earlier original movies that saw theatrical releases, including Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” (2023), which grossed over $158 million worldwide, as well as “Argylle” ($96 million) and “Fly Me to the Moon” ($42 million).
Apple Original Films also produced several movies for Apple TV+ that didn’t hit theaters or had a limited release, including “Coda,” which won Best Picture at the Oscars but had a limited theatrical run, “The Banker,” which has a limited release, and “Greyhound” starring Tom Hanks, which went directly to streaming.