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Brad Pitt's F1: The Movie will release on Apple TV on December 12.
Joseph Kosinski’s sports drama F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt as a has-been Formula 1 racer seeking redemption, is finally coming to streaming in a couple of months. The film, which released in cinemas back on June 27, has evaded an OTT release for months because it continued to attract footfalls in theatres across the world, particularly in the IMAX format.
On Monday, the official social media handles of the streaming giant Apple TV announced that F1 will premiere on the platform on December 12, which is still two months away. The movie has been available on platforms like Apple TV and Prime Video, but on a rent or buy basis only. It’ll be available for free to all subscribers of Apple TV starting December 12.
Co-produced by Apple Studios and Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, F1 had major global distributors in Apple Original Films and Warner Bros. Back when it released in cinemas on June 27, debuted with $55.6 million in North American theaters and $144 million globally over the weekend, handing Apple easily its biggest opening yet.
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Though Apple Original Films has had some notable successes in its six years in Hollywood — including the 2021 Oscar-winning CODA — its theatrical results have been decidedly mixed. Misfires like Argylle and Fly Me To The Moon, and big-budget awards plays like Ridley Scott’s Napoleon and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon have been better at driving viewers to Apple TV+ than movie theatres.
But F1 was Apple’s first foray into the summer blockbuster territory. It won a bidding war for the project from much of the production team behind the 2022 box-office smash Top Gun: Maverick. With a production budget over $200 million, F1 has already earned more than thrice at $629 million worldwide across its 100-day-plus run in theatres across the globe.
Car racing movies have often struggled in theaters. Crash-and-burn cases include Ron Howard’s Rush (2013) and Michael Mann’s Ferrari (2023). But F1 built off the Formula 1 fandom stirred up by the popular Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive. As in Top Gun: Maverick, the filmmakers sought an adrenaline rush by placing IMAX cameras inside the cockpit in F1.
IMAX and large-format screens accounted for 55% of in its ticket sales. In fact, the film kept re-releasing in cinemas, including IMAX screens, to give another shot to the audience who missed out on that big-screen experience. F1 also crossed the coveted Rs 100 crore mark at the Indian box office, lasting over 100 days in cinemas, more than most homegrown tentpoles.
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F1 is also Brad Pitt’s biggest global hit yet, surpassing Marc Forster’s 2013 action horror film World War Z ($540 million), Wolfgang Petersan’s 2004 historical action epic Troy ($497 million), Doug Liman’s spy thriller Mr. & Mrs. Smith ($478 million), Steven Soderbergh’s 2001 heist comedy Ocean’s 11 ($451 million), and its 2004 sequel Ocean’s 12 ($363 million).
English (US) ·