Apple Original Films and Warner Bros. Pictures’ F1 the Movie is racing towards massive success, garnering a US$144 million global box office over its opening weekend, marking the biggest opening to date for an Apple film.
Following along this momentum, Danny Boyle and Sony’s post-apocalyptic threequel, 28 Years Later, has also risen to become the franchise’s biggest grosser at US$103 million worldwide, after receiving an additional US$13.7 million from 63 overseas markets after its second weekend.
The success of F1 the Movie comes as no surprise, owing to the popularity of Formula 1 across the globe, marking the biggest opening weekend for an Apple title across Europe as a region, including topping most markets in Asia. The film also presents the first commercial win for Apple, after notable big-screen underperformers like 2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon, or 2024’s Argylle.
F1 follows an ageing American racing driver and former Formula 1 prodigy named Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), who returns to the sport after a 30-year absence to save his former teammates’ underdog APXGP F1 team from collapse. The film was directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick) and made in collaboration with the FIA, the governing body of F1, and featured real-life F1 teams and drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, who was also a producer.
28 Years Later, on the other hand, marks the third instalment in the 28 Days Later film franchise, and like its namesake, is set almost three decades after the second Rage Virus outbreak as seen in 2007’s 28 Weeks Later, and follows survivors Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), and his son Spike (Alfie Williams), who embark on a dangerous journey to the mainland from their village community for a coming-of-age ritual.
In other box office news, Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon continues to fly high, adding US$32 million globally in its third weekend and earning US$454 million worldwide to date. M3GAN 2.0, on the other hand, saw a downgrade with its disappointing US$17 million launch weekend earnings, falling short of the 2023 original’s box office launch of US$45 million globally.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Si Jia
Ting Wei
