Brad Pitt's ‘F1' Revving Up Big Opening Weekend Box Office

Forbes

8 hours ago

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 09: Brad Pitt, star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, and ... More Damson Idris, co-star of the upcoming Formula One based movie, Apex, walk on the grid in front of Carlos Sainz of Spain driving (55) the Ferrari SF-23 on track during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 09, 2023 in Northampton, England. (Photo by)
Brad Pitt's Formula 1 race car drama F1: The Movie is running laps around fellow newcomer M3GAN 2.0 and a batch of holdovers at the weekend box office.
Directed by Top Gun: Maverick helmer Joseph Kosinski, 'F1: The Movie' stars Pitt as Sonny Hayes, an aging race car driver who rejoins the Formula 1 circuit after a near-fatal crash 30 years earlier. Javier Bardem stars as a former Formula 1 teammate-turned-owner who convinces Sonny to help save his flailing team, while Kerry Condon plays a Formula 1 race car designer and Damson Idris stars as a young and arrogant driver who discounts Sonny's value because of his age.
F1: The Movie is projected by Deadline to earn $55 million-plus in its opening weekend from 3,661 North American theaters. The projection falls in line with Variety's mid-week forecast for the film to open in the $50 million to $60 million range. Variety noted that F1: The Movie — which was produced by Apple Original Films and is being distributed by Warner Bros. — had a $200 million production budget before prints and advertising costs.
DreamWorks and Universal Pictures' live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon is projected by Deadline to take the No. 2 spot at the weekend box office with $18.5 million in ticket sales from 4,127 North American theaters. Should that projection hold, it will boost the film's domestic take to $199.1 million.
Disney and Pixar's animated feature Elio — which made Pixar history (and not in a good) way by having the worst opening weekend in the company's history — appears to be heading to a No. 3 finish at the domestic box office this weekend. Deadline projects that the film will earn $11 million to $12 million through Sunday from 3,750 North American theaters. Should the projection hold, it will up Elio's running tally to $43.4 million.
Allison Williams in "M3GAN 2 0."
'M3GAN 2.0' Is In A Tight Race With '28 Years Later' For Fourth Place
Universal Pictures' M3GAN 2.0, which is the sequel to the 2022 hit horror thriller M3GAN, is struggling in its opening weekend and is vying for a No. 4 finish at the domestic box office. Deadline projects that the film is looking to open with $10 million in ticket sales from 3,112 theaters against a $25 million budget before P&A.
The Hollywood Reporter, which reported that M3GAN 2.0's budget was $15 million before P&A, projected a $20 million for the Blumhouse-produced movie, while Deadline said the film 'would be lucky' to make the same amount of money.
Now, it appears that M3GAN 2.0 will be lucky to make half of either of the trade publications' projections.
Also in the running for the No. 4 spot is Sony Pictures Entertainment's zombie thriller 28 Years Later. Deadline is projecting that the Danny Boyle-directed horror film will make $10 million from 3,440 theaters domestically.
If that estimate holds, it will up the film's North American take to $50.6 million through Sunday.
Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend with the most current numbers as they become available. The final numbers for this weekend's box office will be released on Monday.