Formula 1 News: “F1” movie grosses over $1/2 billion and counting (6th Update)

‘F1: The Movie’ grosses more with each passing day, now having exceeded $552 million.  Apple’s Formula 1 racing movie will return to Imax theaters on Friday, Aug. 8, with plans to further expand on Friday, Aug. 15. Tickets are now on sale.

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, “F1” has made $85 million and counting from Imax theaters alone, which is the highest of any film this year and accounted for 23% of its North America opening and 19% of its global launch.

“Audiences around the world have embraced ‘F1 The Movie’ as an adrenaline-pumping, big screen experience, and its re-release in IMAX is a testament to the global popularity of the film,” said Matt Dentler, head of features at Apple Original Films. “Joe, Jerry, Brad, Lewis and the visionary team behind ‘F1 The Movie’ have delivered a summer blockbuster that blends heart with action, and we can’t wait to give moviegoers another chance to see it in IMAX.”

‘F1: The Movie’ has now surpassed $545 million in global box office revenue and is still running relatively strong given how many weeks it has been out.

Since the movie still has legs, starting this Friday, August 8th, the movie will again be available on IMAX screens in addition to regular screens.

(GMM) Apple’s Formula 1 feature film has officially become the tech giant’s most successful theatrical release, fueling growing speculation that Apple will soon take over as the sport’s US broadcast partner.

According to Formule 1 (Netherlands), ‘F1: The Movie’ has now surpassed $510 million in global box office revenue, eclipsing previous Apple-backed titles like Napoleon ($221 million), Killers of the Flower Moon ($158 million), and Argylle ($96 million).

The Brad Pitt-led film – shot in collaboration with Formula 1 and using real Grand Prix events for footage – was released in over 80 countries and passed the $400 million mark by mid-July. It has now outgrossed Hollywood staples like Superman ($502 million) and ranks among the biggest global hits of the summer.

Streaming rights are expected to shift to Apple TV later this year, but attention is turning to Apple’s broader ambitions in Formula 1.

Earlier this month, multiple reports suggested Apple is close to a nine-figure deal to replace ESPN as the US rights holder for F1 from 2026 onwards. The company’s reported interest aligns with its expanding media footprint, following high-profile sports investments including Major League Soccer and MLB.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali welcomed the success of the film in comments to Corriere della Sera.

“I was sure the film would be a hit in the US,” he said. “But I was amazed by the box office in Europe. Apple has experimented and could be an important partner for future projects. But I don’t want to overindulge.”

“F1 The Movie” has now grossed over $1/2 billion at the box office ($510 million to be exact), with 68% of the revenue coming from international markets and 32% from the U.S. + Canada.

And it’s not done yet. IMAX announced that the movie will be released on IMAX screens starting on August 8th while the movie continues to show on regular movie screens.

“F1” the movie has grossed $460 million through the end of Sunday, July 20, 2025. The strong word of mouth of F1 has resulted in excellent box office legs.

The holds are improving by the week, despite new competition. While the domestic collections are more or less in range, it is the collections internationally, especially in major Asian markets like China, Korea and obviously India, that are driving the film to global numbers that are higher than predicted, helped by the fact F1 has 827 million fans worldwide.

A few weeks back, $500 million was said to be the film’s ceiling. The lower estimates were at a modest $450 million. Now, the range has gone up to $550 million.

UPDATE: The F1 movie has achieved a significant milestone in its theatrical run, surpassing $300 million USD worldwide, and it is still running strong.

The Movie, which is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, earned USD 112.7 million in domestic markets and USD 188.5 million internationally. The cumulative gross collection of the sports drama stands at USD 301.2 million.

The Movie is currently locking horns with Jurassic World: Rebirth at the worldwide box office. It is targeting to finish in the range of USD 485 million to USD 515 million before moving to Apple TV.

After grossing $140 million in the first week of its release, “F1” has generated $293 million at the global box office after 10 days of release.

It is easily Apple film’s biggest movie to date.

After Apple siphoned off a string of commercial misfires (with budgets at or above $200 million, neither “Killers of the Flower Moon” nor “Napoleon” were in danger of turning a theatrical profit), “F1” was considered an inflection point for the tech giant. There was a growing internal sense that if a crowd-pleaser like “F1” didn’t work on the big screen, Apple would be better off abandoning the movie business in favor of television said Variety Magazine.

After all, the company has fielded plenty of small screen successes on AppleTV+ including “Severance” and “Ted Lasso.”

“F1” cost more than $250 million to produce and roughly $100 million more to market, which means the movie will require more weeks of strong showing to turn a profit. But these ticket sales, which are encouraging for any adult-skewing original film.

The film landed in theaters in late June with $57 million domestically and $146 million worldwide, easily handing Apple its biggest opening weekend to date. Positive word-of-mouth should contribute to the movie’s staying power, even as “F1” endures strong headwinds from “Jurassic World Rebirth” and upcoming blockbuster hopefuls like “Superman” and “Fantastic Four:

“F1” has been a huge draw on premium large format screens. So far, IMAX alone has fueled $60 million globally, accounting for 20.4% of the film’s worldwide total.