Brad Pitt F1 movie fetches staggering nine-figure sum at the box office

The Brad Pitt-starring 'F1: The Movie made a flying start at the box office, grossing $144 million worldwide by the end of its opening weekend.

The Apple Originals film earned $55.6 million in North America alone following its theatrical release on Friday, 27 June, ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.

F1 generated another $88.4 million from international markets and was the best-performing movie in various countries including the UK, where it netted $9.2 million.

Other regions where the F1 movie performed strongly included China ($9mn), Mexico ($6.7mn), the Middle East ($5.6mn) and France ($5.4mn).

The figures exceeded expectations and marked the best opening weekend for a film headlined by Pitt.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the movie is reported to have cost between $200 million and $300 million to produce according to various estimates, with a further $175 million spent on global marketing.

However, unlike traditional blockbusters, the F1 film is not entirely reliant on ticket sales, with Apple intending to use it to drive subscriptions for its streaming service, Apple TV+.

Additionally, a portion of the production costs was offset by sponsorship deals involving the fictional Apex team, whose cars appear in the film.

Racing-themed movies have historically seen modest returns at the box office. 

Ron Howard’s Rush, starring Chris Hemsworth, grossed $98.2 million on a $38 million budget. More recently, Ford v Ferrari, which featuring Christian Bale and Matt Damon in leading roles, generated just over $225 million worldwide on a reported budget of $97.6 million.