Brad Pitt’s ‘F1’ Fires Up Box Office With $10M in Previews, ‘M3GAN’ Sequel Takes in $1.5M

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Apple Original Films‘ critically acclaimed F1: The Movie is off to the races.

Before its official release nationwide on June 27th, the movie “Formula One,” directed by Joseph Kosinski, who is known for “Top Gun: Maverick,” has already earned an impressive $10 million at the domestic box office through previews and advance screenings. Specifically, it made $7 million during Thursday screenings alone, and an additional $3 million from various early showings.

Warner Bros. is assisting Apple with the release and promotion of a high-profile summer blockbuster, projected to earn between $40 million and $50 million in North America, and an additional $75 million internationally, totaling over $115 million globally. The film benefits from exclusive access to Imax screens for three weeks, as well as playing on other premium large-format screens such as Dolby Cinema for part of that period. However, it’s worth noting that the movie carries a significant production cost of at least $200 million, not including marketing expenses.

In the film F1, which pairs Brad Pitt with Damson Idris, Apple is hoping to make a significant impact in cinema as they strive to rekindle their theatrical aspirations following a series of box office flops, including Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon.

In Kosinski’s movie, Brad Pitt portrays a retired Formula One driver who has been injured, who then joins forces with a younger driver, played by Idris. Javier Bardem takes on the role of the F1 team owner who devises the plan. Hans Zimmer, who previously collaborated with Kosinski on Top Gun: Maverick, composed the film’s music.

Venturing into Formula One is a daring step because it hasn’t traditionally been the main sport in the U.S., unlike its popularity abroad (for instance, top Apple executive Eddy Cue is a longtime fan and serves on Ferrari NV’s board). The 2013 film ‘Rush’, directed by Ron Howard about Formula One, only made $26.9 million in domestic earnings and $97 million worldwide. However, the pre-release earnings for F1 are higher than those of the racing movie ‘Ford v. Ferrari’, a biographical action drama featuring Matt Damon and Christian Bale that took in $2.1 million during previews before a decent three-day North American opening of $3 million.

Movie titled F1 is set to circle around the set of M3GAN 2.0, produced by Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, which grossed $1.5 million during its Thursday previews. The Universal studio anticipates a domestic box office opening of approximately $20 million for this release, which is around $10 million less than the initial film’s record-breaking debut of $30.4 million in December 2023, including $2.75 million in previews. In total, it is projected to earn $117.7 million within North America and $226.3 million worldwide, all on a production budget of merely $12 million, unadjusted for inflation.

Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster joined forces again to produce this sequel, released amid a crowded market for horror films. However, experts suggest that the sequel is almost certain to be financially successful given its low budget of just $15 million. Universal anticipates that the film will offer an alternative viewing option for younger women who have no interest in Formula 1 racing.

Two years after the AI doll named M3GAN went on a deadly rampage to safeguard its young human companion (Violet McGraw), it was put aside. Its creator, Allison Williams who is now a famous author and advocate for AI regulation by the government, finds herself in a predicament when another AI being arises, posing an even greater threat. This rekindles the need to bring back M3GAN, leading to a series of chaotic events. The sequel was directed by Gerard Johnstone who also co-wrote the story with Akela Cooper, and is based on characters conceived by Cooper and James Wan.

Actors Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jen Van Epps rejoin the cast with McGraw and Williams, while fresh faces joining the series include Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, Grammy winner and 11-time Emmy nominee Jemaine Clement.

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2025-06-27 18:55