With ‘F1,’ Apple execs hope for a ‘Top Gun: Maverick’-like blockbuster

Dubbed “the greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition — and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.
From Apple Original Films, the high-octane, action-packed feature film “F1 The Movie” was directed by Joseph Kosinski.
Apple executives are hoping “F1” achieves results similar to “Top Gun: Maverick,” the American action drama film also directed by Kosinski, that grossed $1,496,696,292 worldwide in 2022.
Ben Fritz and Joe Flint for The Wall Street Journal:
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The tech giant agreed to spend nearly $250 million [on “F1”], more than any other studio thought the drama about an aging driver’s last shot at glory was worth, said people with knowledge of the matter. Pitt was paid more than the $20 million standard for A-list movie stars and will get a cut of the film’s revenue if it’s a hit.
“F1” is one of Apple’s biggest entertainment bets since it leapt into Hollywood in 2019 and embodies its unusually lavish and meticulous approach to the business, which has brought little commercial success. People who have worked at or with the company say Apple executives crave hits, but only want to produce content they believe reflects the high-end, aspirational qualities of the iPhone and MacBook…
With sleek production values and strong reviews, “F1” is exactly the kind of movie Apple wants. It was made by “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and Apple executives have privately said they hope it will be the land-based equivalent of the airborne blockbuster, which grossed $1.5 billion in 2022.
But prerelease surveys indicate “F1” is struggling to generate interest among audiences beyond older men. Its success or failure will be a referendum on Apple’s ability to meld carefully curated content with broad popular appeal after six years in which it hasn’t released a single box-office hit.
“F1” will be available on Apple TV+, the company’s streaming service, after its run on the big screen. Apple TV+ has an estimated 27.2 million subscribers in the U.S., according to Nielsen, below competitors that launched around the same time including Disney+ and HBO Max.
It has earned a reputation for content that excites critics more than audiences, including the Leonardo DiCaprio–Robert De Niro movie “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Oscar Best Picture winner “CODA,” literary adaptation “Pachinko,” and the spy drama “Slow Horses.”
Its few mainstream successes include sports comedy “Ted Lasso,” sci-fi workplace drama “Severance” and straight-to-streaming film “The Gorge.”

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MacDailyNews Take: The extent of the marketing reveals the height of Apple exec’s hopes for “F1.”
MacDailyNews Note: Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Vision Pro, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $9.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.

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