Apple’s F1 Movie Drops Today: Everything’s Riding on It

Why Apple is risking it all on the biggest F1 film ever made

Welcome to Business of Speed.

We are witnessing something pretty unique in F1 business (hell, all of sports business): A $300M(?) Hollywood film that could actually move the needle for a publicly traded league.

F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, hits theaters officially today. Early projections indicate it will pull in $59–75 million, a strong start for any racing film. (For comparison: Ford v Ferrari opened at $31M. Gran Turismo did $17M.)

But here’s the catch: Apple produced this one. And with a reported budget north of $300M (per Puck’s Matt Belloni), the bar for success is sky-high.

Theaters may fill. Critics may cheer. However, unless it achieves significant success, headlines will likely label it a flop.

But for anyone who reads this newsletter and follows me across social media, you know this isn’t just about the box office.

If F1: The Movie breaks out beyond the hardcore fans, it could do what Drive to Survive did in 2019 by bringing in millions of new viewers, boosting U.S. media r…