With ‘F1’, Apple finally has a theatrical hit

It looks like Apple has its first box office in good faith.

The company has already produced films acclaimed by criticism and awarded for Apple TV +. In fact, while Netflix has would have spent millions for its Oscar campaignsApple’s “Coda” remains the only film produced by a streaming service to win the Academy Award for the best film.

However, it was another story at the box office – at best, yields are below ambitious budgets, and with “Argylle”, society had a spectacular flop. Last year, Apple would have decided to retreat on budgets and theatrical versions, leading to Canceled projects and criticisms of administrators.

Things have finally turned with “F1” – currently the number one film in theaters, on track to win $ 55.6 million This weekend at the National Box-Office. With $ 144 million in world ticket sales, “F1” will soon go “Napoleon” ($ 228 million) as Apple’s most profitable film.

The director of “F1”, Joseph Kosinski, previously directed “Top Gun: Maverick”, and in many ways, the new film sounds like a loose copy of the “Maverick” formula, combining realistic cinematography, you-yre (Brad Pitt really leads these cars!) With a familiar story on an older veteran forced to work with a young element which must learn one or two things on the analog grain in the old one.

“F1” (which is distributed in the United States by Warner Bros.) probably benefited from the American popularity of Formula 1 race, partly fueled by the Netflix Docu Userres “lead to survive”. A large part was filmed during real formula 1 races, and the Lewis Hamilton driver also signed as a producer.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook, even joined Hamilton for A variety cover story In which Cook said that society had been able to “bring things that were only Apple to the film, like our camera technology”. The plan, he added, was “to ensure that the whole company also supports it-our retail operation and everything”. (Not all customers are were satisfied with the cross promotion.)

Although Apple’s bet seems to be paying, it is still not clear if the “F1” – with a budget reported by more than $ 200 million – will actually make a profit in theaters. Before his release, an analyst at the box office said Vulture that even in success, the film “can end up being a very expensive advertisement for the original content on Apple TV”. “”