NEW YORK (AP) โ Apple has its first box-office hit.
โF1 The Movieโย debuted with $55.6 million in North American theaters and $144 million globally over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing the tech company easily its biggest opening yet.
Though Apple Original Films has had some notable successes in its six years in Hollywood โ including the 2021ย Oscar-winner โCODAโ โย its theatrical results have been decidedly mixed. Misfires likeย โArgylleโย andย โFly Me to the Moonโย and big-budget awards plays likeย Ridley Scottโs โNapoleonโย andย Martin Scorseseโs โKillers of the Flower Moonโย have been better at driving viewers to Apple TV+ than movie theaters.
But โF1โ was Appleโs first foray into summer blockbuster territory. It won a bidding war for the project from much of the production team behind the 2022 box-office smash โTop Gun: Maverick.โ Apple then partnered with Warner Bros. to distributed the film starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and Kerry Condon.
With a production budget over $200 million, โF1โ still has several laps to go to turn a profit. But for now, โF1โ is full speed ahead.
โโF1 The Movieโ puts the pedal to the metal in an impressive overperformance for this original summer movie that had one of the most comprehensive and exciting marketing blitzes in recent memory and it paid off big for the film,โ said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore.
Car racing movies have often struggled in theaters; crash-and-burn cases include Ron Howardโs โRushโ (2013) andย Michael Mannโs โFerrariโย (2023). But โF1โ built off of the Formula 1 fandom stirred up by the popular series โFormula 1: Drive to Survive.โ And it leaned onย โTop Gun: Maverickโ director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimerย to deliver another adult-oriented action thrill ride.
Like they did in โTop Gun: Maverick,โ the filmmakers sought an adrenaline rush by placing IMAX cameras inside the cockpit in โF1.โ IMAX and large-format screens accounted for 55% of in its ticket sales. IMAX, whose screens are much sought-after in the summer, has carved out a three-week run for the movie.
Reviews have been very good for โF1โ and audience reaction (an โAโ via CinemaScore) was even better. That suggests โF1โ could hold up well in the coming weeks despite some formidable coming competition in Universal Picturesโย โJurassic World Rebirth.โ
Universalโsย โM3gan 2.0โย had been expected to pose a greater challenge to โF1.โ Instead, the robot doll sequel didnโt come close to matching the 2022 originalโs box-office launch.
โM3gan 2.0โ collected $10.2 million in 3,112 theaters. Memes and viral videos helped propel the first โM3ganโ to a $30.4 million opening and a total haul of $180 million, all on a $12 million budget.
Still, the Blumhouse Productions horror thriller could wind up profitable. The film, written and directed by Gerald Johnstone, cost a modest $25 million to make. A spinoff titled โSoulm8teโ is scheduled for release next year.
M3gan 2.0โ ended up in fourth place. The box-office leader of the last two weekends,ย โHow to Train Your Dragon,โย slid to second with $19.4 million. The DreamWorks Animation live-action hit from Universal Pictures has surpassed $200 million domestically in three weeks.
Afterย a debut that marked a new low for Pixar, the studioโs โElioโ gathered up $10.7 million in sales in its second weekend. That gives the Walt Disney Co. release a disappointing two-week start of $42.2 million.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. โF1 The Movie,โ $55 million.
2. โHow to Train Your Dragon,โ $19.4 million.
3. โElio,โ $10.7 million.
4. โM3gan 2.0,โ $10.2 million.
5. โ28 Years Later,โ $9.7 million.
6. โLilo & Stitch,โ $6.9 million.
7. โMission: Impossible โ Final Reckoning,โ $4.2 million.
8. โMaterialists,โ $3 million.
9. โBallerina,โ $2.1 million.
10. โKarate Kid: Legends,โ $1 million.
