Heading into summer 2025, no one could have ever imagined that F1: The Movie would drive some of Hollywood’s biggest tentpoles off the road, breaking the Formula One movie curse and delivering high-octane milestones for all involved.
Over the Aug. 1-3 weekend — its sixth weekend in release — the movie surpassed the $540.4 million earned by World War Z to become the top-grossing film of Brad Pitt’s career in a leading role with more than $546 million in worldwide ticket sales through that Sunday.
That number sped to $557.8 million through Thursday, Aug. 8, including a domestic tally of $175.7 million and $382.2 million overseas (it will cross the $560 million mark sometime on Friday). Put another way, F1 has earned almost as much as DC Studios’ summer tentpole Superman, which has grossed $565.52 million to date at the global box office, including $323.4 million domestically and $242.1 million overseas through Aug. 8. The original action-adventure could ultimately come close to matching Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, which has earned $595 million since its release in late May.
F1, reuniting Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, is perhaps most notable in being a mega-win for Apple Original Films’ foray into theatrical after the tech giant suffered several high-profile box office misses. That includes Martin Scorsese’s big-budget Killers of the Flower Moon, which limped to $158.7 million globally in 2023, not adjusted for inflation.
Exhibitors need flush new players like Apple, or Amazon MGM Studios, to replenish the pipeline as the legacy studios release fewer films.
“Apple, given its incredibly large tech footprint, cultural branding resonance and tremendous financial resources, is the perfect partner for creatives and studios looking to replicate the home run that is F1: The Movie,” says Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergerabedian.
Unlike Amazon MGM, Apple doesn’t have its own distribution pipeline either domestically or overseas, so must rely on a third-party studio to release its films; in the case of F1, it is Warners, which is also home of DC Studios.
The film is doing so well that Apple has abided by a traditional theatrical window, versus reversing course and slapping the film on Apple TV+. Additionally, Imax is rereleasing the action drama on select screens over the Aug. 8-10 weekend before expanding into additional auditoriums on Aug. 15. So far, the pic is Imax’s highest-grossing Hollywood film of 2025 with more than $85 million in ticket sales.
F1 the movie is doing staggering business in markets across Europe, Latin America and Asia, including in China, where it has earned $56.1 million to date, among the highest showings of the year for a Hollywood title (Superman has topped at a mere $8.9 million at the Chinese box office).
It remains to be seen whether F1 can ultimately cross the $600 million milestone with the added boost of being made available again in Imax.
“Audiences around the world have embraced F1: The Movie as an adrenaline-pumping, big screen experience, and its rerelease in Imax is a testament to the global popularity of the film,” said Matt Dentler, head of features, Apple Original Films.
Globally, F1 ranks No. 8 on the year’s list of top-grossing films.
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