Pro Drivers Give Brad Pitt's 'F1' Movie The Thumbs Up. Its $300 Million Budget Makes It One Of The Most Expensive Films Ever Made

Brad Pitt‘s much-vaunted Formula One movie, “F1,” recently received a resounding thumbs up from its potentially toughest audience — F1 drivers. During a screening in Monaco, the film was praised by the sport’s speed kings, multiple outlets reported. It was hardly surprising considering some of them have cameos in the movie and it was made in cooperation with F1.

Apple AAPL, which reportedly spent $300 million to make the film, and Warner Brothers, the distributor, can only hope the public shares the sentiment and will flock to theaters when it is released internationally at the end of the month.

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“Honestly, I enjoyed the whole thing,” driver Carlos Sainz told Reuters in a press conference. “There were things that really surprised me. Not talking about the story, but the quality of footage they got. It’s insane. Honestly insane. That’s for me the best part of all of it."

Driver Oliver Bearman agreed. “I think it really depicts in a great way what we go through, in a bit of a Hollywood way, as you would expect, but that makes it really interesting,” he said in the press conference. “I think the goal of the movie is going to be achieved. I think it’s going to be a huge hit and it’s going to make people want to watch F1, which is really the goal of it.”

Co-Produced By Lewis Hamilton And Directed By Joseph Kosinski Of ‘Top Gun: Maverick'

The film was co-produced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton through his Apollo Dawn Films banner. “Watching Brad drive around at speeds over 180 miles an hour was really impressive to see because it’s not something you can just learn overnight,” Hamilton said in pre-recorded comments at a launch event. “The dedication and the focus that Brad put into this process has been amazing to witness.”

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Adding to the film’s star power is director Joseph Kosinski, known for “Top Gun: Maverick,” and Javier Bardem as the racing team owner.  As with “Top Gun: Maverick,” remote cameras captured the actors traveling at high speeds. 

“When you see Brad driving, that’s not acting. He’s really concentrating on keeping that car on the track and out of the wall during all those scenes so that’s something that you just can’t fake,” Kosinski told Reuters.

One Of The Most Expensive Films Ever Made

Apple’s streaming platform is reportedly not yet profitable. In fact, The Information reported that the company is losing $1 billion per year with its streaming platform, which has 45 million subscribers. The losses are small-change for the company, whose annual profits were $93.7 billion for its fiscal year that ended in September.

Still, Apple is not in the business of losing money. The Information reported that Apple is spending around $4.5 billion on content annually, down from $5 billion in past years. Backing one of the most expensive films ever made is an undoubtedly risky move but producer Jerry Bruckheimer recently played down the towering numbers to Deadline, explaining that sponsorship underwrote some of the costs.

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“We’ve raised more money for our (filming) car than some Formula 1 teams,” Bruckheimer said. On-car sponsorship included Expensify, while the Hamilton-linked brands Tommy Hilfiger, IWC, and others also contributed, Deadline reported. “You take that all into consideration and it really drops that number quite a bit lower than what people would think.”

When pressed, Bruckheimer balked at getting specific. “We can’t give you a number because that’s Apple’s money and they can talk about it,” he told Deadline. “But what I think you can say is it’s quite a bit lower than what’s been reported.”

The Film Needs To Generate $750 Million

Autoracing1.com suggests that to cover its costs, including marketing, “F1” needs to generate over $750 million in global box office revenues — a tall order even with Hollywood’s top talent in Pole Position. 

Apple does not release financial or subscriber numbers for Apple TV+ alone, but rather for its overall Services sector, which includes Apple TV+ and generated revenue of $26.3 billion for fiscal Q4, representing a 14% year-over-year increase.

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