F1: The Movie Box Office Success Is Great For Apple And Cinema, Says Vue
As all F1 fans know, the start is all-important. Even for the driver in pole position, if they're slow off the mark as the lights go out, they could be beaten to the first corner, and instead of dominating, suddenly they are struggling to keep up. It's the same for movies. While there are exceptions, all too often, if things don't go to plan on the opening weekend, as far as the headlines go, its race is run, and the movie is deemed a flop.
It's great news, then, that F1: The Movie has enjoyed a successful launch, taking $55m in the USA and Canada and over $140 million worldwide in its opening weekend. The movie was shot with IMAX digital cameras and presented in the IMAX 1.90:1 aspect ratio for its whole length, so it's no surprise that IMAX contributed $28 million of that opening figure, accounting for 19% of the total.
This makes it the most successful global opening for an Apple-backed movie release so far, out-pacing Napoleon (2023) with $78.8 million and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) with its $44 million (worldwide opening weekend).
The success of F1: The Movie has delighted Eduardo Leal, the group regional director of screen content for Vue, who said in a statement, 'Grossing over $140 million worldwide, we expect the excitement to continue to build ahead of this weekend. The success of F1 is also incredibly exciting for the industry. We hope the success of F1 will encourage Apple to bring more of its films to cinemas in the future so that everyone has the opportunity to experience these amazing stories.'
The critical word, though, here is 'hope'. While Netflix is renowned for its limited support for theatrical release, Amazon has expressed more commitment, and with the success of the movie, Leal is hoping Apple will be encouraged to do the same.
Cinema is still struggling to get back to pre-pandemic levels, with the rise of streaming one of the key reasons for this. The big streaming players make movies not out of love for the theatrical experience but because they want to publicize the content for their streaming services. While they will not be averse to the movie, they have invested in taking money in the cinemas, it's not their primary concern. 'Subscriber acquisition and retention' is the mantra.
And when Apple CEO Tim Cook told Variety in June regarding financing the movie, 'I don't have it in my mind that I'm going to sell more iPhones because of it,' one can't help but feel that's a little disingenuous. After all, iPhone 15 Pro components were used to construct a bespoke camera that was fitted to the cars, which could offer cinema-grade quality racing images while withstanding the forces of the cars being driven around the track. In addition, the Apple ProRes codec was used as its dynamic range gave the filmmakers the flexibility to color-grade the footage to match that captured from the main camera used, such as the Sony Venice 2.
Whatever the motivations behind this movie, though, the immediate financial success of F1: The Movie will hopefully be taken as a positive so that the streaming giants are more likely to bring their original movies to the big screen first — where they belong.
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Love movies? Live for TV? USA TODAY's Watch Party newsletter has all the best recommendations, delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now and be one of the cool kids. Almost as long as that legendary master of horror Stephen King has been keeping book lovers up at night, filmmakers have been adapting his novels and short stories. Which means there have been some stone-cold classics ("The Shining," anyone?) and more than a few clunkers. For every "The Dark Tower," there's an "It" – though we got two of those, both of them good. So is the new one: Director Mike Flanagan's uplifting film "The Life of Chuck" (in theaters now), based on the novella from King's "If It Bleeds" collection, stars Tom Hiddleston as the title character whose life story gets told in reverse chronological order. It's a pretty big 2025 for King and his Constant Readers. 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It's an enjoyable time watching Arnold Schwarzenegger as a framed military man on a brutally deadly game show, tackling over-the-top bruisers and TV host baddie Richard Dawson in a movie that's more WrestleMania than social satire. Where to watch: Paramount+, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. Gory and gloriously absurd, the horror comedy stars Theo James in a dual role as twins who thought they got rid of a cursed monkey toy when they were kids until it comes back into their lives and brings a whole heap of bloody death. Sure, it's extremely demented, but this wacky film also has something deep to say about mortality. Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. The sentimental prison drama based on King's serial novel gets its hooks in thanks to the one-two emotional punch of Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan. Hanks plays a death row prison guard who doesn't know what to make of a gentle but enigmatic giant (Duncan), convicted of murdering two girls, who exhibits strange abilities. Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. In the most underrated King movie, a supernatural skeptic (John Cusack) who writes about haunted places takes interest in the legendarily creepy room of a New York high-rise. It's astoundingly kooky but also a thoughtful study of cynicism and belief. Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. Ewan McGregor stars in "The Shining" sequel as a grown-up Danny Torrance, decades past surviving the horrors at the Overlook Hotel, now sober after years of alcoholism and helping a young psychic girl (Kyliegh Curran). It mines familiar ground by carrying over "Shining" themes and characters, but it's best going its own way as a reluctant hero's journey. Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. King is as much a master of Americana as he is frights, and Rob Reiner's coming-of-age tale of four misfits and their adventures to find a dead body is top notch at capturing the unbreakable bond of friendship and the fleeting nature of childhood innocence. Where to watch: Paramount+, Pluto TV, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. How do you make a King novella even more bleak? Director Frank Darabont manages to do that rather well with this story of small-town Maine folks stuck in a supermarket, thanks to a mysterious mist and monstrous hidden creatures outside. Come for the paranoia and tribalism, stay for the gut-punch ending. Where to watch: Paramount+, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. A modern take might have nutty Annie Wilkes making a TikTok or simply sliding into the DMs of author Paul Sheldon to profess her fandom but it wouldn't have been so malevolently perfect as this pre-Internet chiller. Kathy Bates earns her Oscar and then some, taking Annie's terrifying adoration for James Caan's Sheldon to a disturbing, hide-your-eyes level. Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. Christopher Walken is a psychic schoolteacher who 'sees' someone's secrets if he touches them, including a vision of a nuclear holocaust after shaking the hand of a senatorial candidate (Martin Sheen). More than 40 years later, the film's political bent seems timelier than ever. Where to watch: Pluto TV, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. Sissy Spacek exudes quiet, tortured grace as a teenager just blossoming into womanhood, leading to bullying from classmates and her abusively religious mom (Piper Laurie). The last 30 minutes is a jaw-dropping transformation from childhood innocence to murderous hysteria. Where to watch: Max, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. Taking the friendship stuff from "Stand by Me" and weaving in a deliciously evil clown in a poufy wardrobe, "It" works magic on a lot of different levels and leaves you desperately seeking more Pennywise. Warning: May not be for those skeeved out by buckets of blood shooting out of a sink. Where to watch: Max, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. A more life-affirming, dance-filled Stephen King movie than you probably expect. Featuring Tom Hiddleston as a businessman with some sweet moves, it's a proudly unconventional flick that begins with the end of the world and ends with a haunted attic, and everything in between is a thought-provoking delight. Where to watch: In theaters. There's not much scary here other than some jail guards. Instead, what makes "Shawshank" an all-timer is the core friendship of two inmates (played by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman) who figure out they'd better 'get busy living or get busy dying." Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. King notoriously disliked Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, but it's the best of the entire lot. Come for the infamous scenes – 'Heeeeere's Johnny,' anyone? – and stay for the exceptional exploration of isolation, one man's descent into madness, and the terrifying effect on his family. Where to watch: Max, Apple TV, Amazon, Fandango at Home. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The best Stephen King movies, ranked (including 'Life of Chuck')
