Apple triumphs at the box office with F1 and Brad Pitt
F1 – The Movie arrived on June 27 in Italian and international theaters, with the Apple Original Films label. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, fresh from the success of Top ? Gun : Maverick , the film stars Brad Pitt in the role of Sonny Hayes, a former F1 hopeful, who returns to the track to save his struggling team.
The storyIt is not a film where the hero triumphs, but rather a eulogy of the team, the APXGP team, which represents the collective soul of Formula 1. Kosinski stages the importance of teamwork, of engineers, mechanics, strategists and managers, each with a crucial role. So, when Sonny Hayes returns to racing, he is not a soloist, but part of a system that works in perfect synchrony. The decisions in the pits, the mechanical interventions, the mental and technical support: everything contributes to the performance on the track.
Kosinski shows these dynamics with a somewhat documentary style. The shots convey the driver's perspective, but also the anxiety, tension and quick thinking required of the team. The collaboration between Hayes and British rookie Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris, becomes a metaphor for the transmission of skills, mutual trust, and shared growth.
Many scenes were filmed during real Grand Prix (Silverstone, Monza, Spa) with cars appropriately modified in collaboration with Mercedes and Carlin Motorsport. The live sequences in the cockpit, the braking, the overtaking and even a spectacular accident are real.
Since it is an Apple production, the emphasis on the technological aspect could not be missed: in Cupertino they even created a mini camera specifically for it that was mounted on the single-seaters. Based on the iPhone sensor and chip, it was developed to capture footage in ProRes LOG and 6K resolution; Apple collaborated with Panavision for a remote control system that allows pan and tilt in motion. It was thus possible to install up to four modules per car, without compromising aerodynamics and weight, and creating footage with immersive and original points of view. For Apple, the project demonstrates how advanced the cameras of its iPhones are and paves the way for future professional uses in extreme footage, confirming an evolution from the consumer segment to high-impact visual cinema.
F1 is part of a specific strategy by Apple: investing in traditional cinema to strengthen Apple TV+ and the technology brand, taking advantage of synergies with iPhone, Apple Pay, Apple Maps and even haptic trailers on the TV app.
And this time it went well: the film, distributed in theaters by Warner Bros, debuted with 55.6 million in takings in North America and 144 worldwide. It is the best debut ever for the cinema division of the technology giant, which had not had the same luck with its previous investments, the very expensive Killers of the Flower Moon by Martin Scorsese and Napoleon by Ridley Scott, both from 2023. In Italy, F1 immediately conquered the top of the Cinetel data with 1,589,340 euros and an average of 3,440 euros in 462 theaters, for a total of 2,043,056 euros in five days.
La Repubblica
