With ‘F1’, Apple finally has a theatrical hit

Looks like Apple has its first bona fide box office hit.

The company has already produced critically-acclaimed and award-winning films for Apple TV+. In fact, while Netflix has reportedly spent millions on its Oscar campaigns, Apple’s “Coda” remains the only movie produced by a streaming service to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

It has, however, been a different story at the box office — at best, returns have fallen short of ambitious budgets, and with “Argylle,” the company had a spectacular flop. Last year, Apple reportedly decided to scale back on both budgets and theatrical releases, leading to canceled projects and criticism from directors.

Things have finally turned around with “F1” — currently the number one movie in theaters, on-track to earn $55.6 million this weekend at the domestic box office. With $144 million in global ticket sales, “F1” will soon surpass “Napoleon” ($228 million) as Apple’s highest-grossing film.

“F1”’s director, Joseph Kosinski, previously helmed “Top Gun: Maverick,” and in many ways, the new movie sounds like a loose copy of the “Maverick” formula, combining realistic, you-are-there cinematography (Brad Pitt is really driving those cars!) with a familiar narrative about an older veteran forced to work with a young upstart who needs to learn a thing or two about old-fashioned, analog grit.

“F1” (which is being distributed in the U.S. by Warner Bros.) likely benefited from the surging U.S. popularity of Formula One racing, fueled in part by Netflix’s docuseries “Drive to Survive.” Much of it was filmed at actual Formula One races, and driver Lewis Hamilton also signed on as a producer.

Apple CEO Tim Cook even joined Hamilton for a Variety cover story in which Cook said the company was able to “bring some things that were uniquely Apple to the movie, like our camera technology.” The plan, he added, was “to have the whole of the company support it as well — our retail operation and everything.” (Not all customers have been pleased with the cross-promotion.)

While Apple’s bet seems to be paying off, it’s still not clear whether “F1” — with a reported budget of more than $200 million — will actually make a profit in theaters. Before its release, one box office analyst told Vulture that even in success, the movie “may end up being a very expensive commercial for original content on Apple TV.”