I don’t know why but the trades are all excited that Apple is having its biggest opening ever with “F1.”
That’s nice, but the Brad Pitt race car movie isn’t a special flower or an art film. It’s a $200 million movie starring a Big Movie Star, and it’s in very wide release.
The reality is that “F1” has had a $25 million opening including Thursday and prior screenings. Friday brought in just $15 million on its own. So Apple and Warner Bros. is looking at a $55 million weekend.
For Apple, that’s fine. If this were a Warner-only movie, people would be jumping out of windows. If “Superman” does that, expect real July 4th fireworks aimed at Burbank. (It’s going to be much much bigger, don’t worry. Hint: it’s really good.)
“F1” is lagging behind on the track. Apple/WB is going to need a big Saturday. Word of mouth should be good since audiences since its has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes from actual customers. So there’s interest and recommendation. The critics number, however, has dropped to 83%, but that’s plenty for this kind of movie.
Brad Pitt is fine. He has an Oscar, and he probably gets paid on the gross, not the net. He also has a vineyard, and a young beautiful girlfriend, and he wakes up every day as Brad Pitt. So don’t cry for him, Argentina.
