Brad Pitt’s newest outing,F1 The Movie, has hit a major box office milestone for a variety of reasons. The movie stars Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a Formula 1 driver who teams up with young hotshot Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) after an accident kept him off the track for many years. The cast also includes Kerry Condon and Javier Bardem.
TheF1 The Moviebox officehas been performing extremely well since the Brad Pitt project premiered on June 27. During its opening weekend alone, it grossed $57 million at the domestic box office, which marksthe highest-grossing opening weekend in history for an Apple Studios production.
Since then, it has zoomed past a number of major milestones. At the end of its first full week in theaters, on July 3,F1 The Moviereached a worldwide gross of $172.7 million. It has now landed atNo. 18 on the chart of the 20 highest-grossing movie featuring Brad Pitt.
Additionally, this total means that it has become onlythe 11th movie of 2025 to surpass the $170 million milestone. There are a wide variety of possible reasons whyF1 The Moviehas been able to accomplish these milestones so quickly.
1F1 The Movie Won Over Critics
It Is Certified Fresh On Rotten Tomatoes
One potential reason that viewers have been keen to seeF1 The Movieis the fact that the movie has earned a cavalcade of positive reviews. At the time of writing, Rotten Tomatoes has aggregated 293 different critics' reviews of the movie. 242 of those were positive, earning the releasea solid Certified Fresh score of 83%.
This collection of reviews includes one fromScreenRant’s own Mae Abdulbaki, whogave it a score of 8 out of 10. Read an excerpt from herF1 The Moviereviewbelow:
The characters are easy to root for, the relationship buildup is well-paced and occasionally complex, and the racing itself is heart-pounding. F1 has all the elements of a classic underdog movie, but also pits the old against the new in a way that is fresh and intense. There’s not a moment you don’t want Sonny and Joshua… to suck it up and start working together as a team, but it’s a jog and not a sprint to get there. By the time they do, it’s a monumental moment that is earned.
F1 The Moviealsomade a move that could have been risky but ultimately paid off. Some reviews were published early, more than a full week before the movie’s debut, following its premiere at Radio City Music Hall on June 16. If these early writeups had given the movie a Rotten score at the time, it could have capsized the release.
However,F1earned a variety of glowing reviews that gave it a similarly Fresh score early on, before even more were added, putting it at its current Certified Fresh level.This early wave of positivity allowed buzz to build around the movieduring the lead-up to its release.
F1 The Movie Is Also Verified Hot On Rotten Tomatoes
Image via Apple TV+
While critics had already givenF1 The Moviethe green light, audiences responded even better on Rotten Tomatoes. At the time of writing, there are more than 5,000 verified ratings from viewers on the website, earning the Brad Pitt moviea Verified Hot Popcornmeter score of 97%, improving on the Tomatometer score by nearly 15%.
In addition to the vast majority of audience reviews being positive, the average score of those 5,000 reviews is 4.7 out of 5, indicating thatthe reviews are not only positive but strongly so.
Viewers who may have been on the fence about seeing it [are likely being convinced] to give it a shot.
Audiences have also responded positively to the movie on a number of other user review platforms. At the time of writing,F1 The Moviehas earned 3.8 out of 5 on Letterboxd, 7.9 out of 10 on IMDb, 7.6 out of 10 on Metacritic, and 8.6 out of 10 onScreenRant’s own user review platform.
This influx of enthusiasm has likely built up a great deal of buzzaround the movie, convincing viewers who may have been on the fence about seeing it to give it a shot.
He Has Been A Hollywood Icon For Decades
Another aspect ofF1 The Moviethat has helped it thrive is the fact that it stars Brad Pitt.Pitt has been a major A-list star more or less since the beginning of his career, when he broke out thanks to his role as J.D. in 1991’sThelma & Louise. Since then, he has gone on to titanic success, both critically and commercially.
Overall,Brad Pitt movieshavecollectively grossed more than $9 billion, with some of the highest-grossing being 2013’sWorld War Z($531.9 million), 2005’sMr. and Mrs. Smith($486.1 million), 2004’sTroy($483.1 million), 2001’sOcean’s Eleven($450.7 million), and 2019’sOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywood($377.4 million).
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywoodis director Quentin Tarantino’s second highest-grossing movie ever, behind onlyDjango Unchained($449.8 million).
His critical success includes winning two Oscars(as a producer for12 Years a Slaveand an actor forOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywood) alongside five other nominations (as an actor for12 Monkeys,The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, andMoneyball, and as a producer forMoneyballandThe Big Short).
Additionally,F1 The Movieisthe first major wide release in which Brad Pitt has a lead role since 2022, when he starred inBullet TrainandBabylon. While neither of those movies were major hits, his nearly three-year absence from the big screen has likely fueled increased interest in his new project.
4Top Gun: Maverick Still Looms Large
F1 The Movie Reunites The Core Creators Behind The Legacy Sequel
The lingering aura of the massive success that was 2022’sTop Gun: Maverickcould also be a reason forF1 The Movie’s performance.The Tom Cruise legacy sequel grossed $1.496 billion worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing movie of that year behind onlyAvatar: The Way of Water.
In addition to reunitingTop Gun: Maverickdirector Joseph Kosinski, screenwriter Ehren Kruger, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer,F1 The Movierecreated that movie’s high-octane approachto flying by bringing the adrenaline-pumping thrills of Formula 1 racing to the screen. This all seems to have appealed to the same fans who propelled the earlier movie toward the top of the charts.
5Formula 1 Is A Hugely Popular Sport
It Is An IP In And Of Itself
Even thoughF1 The Movieis not part of a pre-existing film franchise,Formula 1 is a major global IP in and of itself. The popularity of the motor sport allowed the movie to access a wide global fan base even though viewers didn’t already have a connection to its characters.
This is a similar approach to the one that made 2023’sBarbiesuch a huge box office success. By merely taking place within the world of Formula 1,it forges a connection to a brand with which many viewers already have a bond.
AlthoughBarbiesimply used characters from the titular toy line rather than adapting a pre-existing story, the movie earned $1.447 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2023.
In addition to bringing viewers even closer to the action,F1 The Moviewears its connection to the Formula 1 brand proudly. This is accomplished in many ways, including featuring cameos from more than two dozenreal-life Formula 1 driversand eight personnel members.
Thanks to the production working with Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the organization behind Formula 1,they were also able to shoot on real racetracksto make the onscreen action as realistic as possible.
The Holiday Helped Boost Its Domestic Box Office
While this was not a concern outside the United States, theF1 The Moviereleasekicked off just one weekend before the Fourth of July holiday.Fourth of July week tends to be a solid period at the domestic box office, which is why the new releaseJurassic World Rebirthpremiered midweek on Wednesday rather than Friday.
Given the fact thatF1 The Moviewas still in the middle of the first week of its run on Wednesday,it was still a fresh title that capitalized on audiences' interest in going to the movies in generalduring that period. That additional boost helped its first full week reach its astounding heights.
7Early Summer 2025 Lacked Major Adult Blockbusters
Live-Action Remakes Ruled The Domestic Chart
Another factor that likely helpedF1 The Moviefind its audience is the fact thatthe beginning of summer 2025 was dominated by PG-rated family movies. From Memorial Day through the premiere ofF1, the only two movies that had taken No. 1 at the domestic box office were the live-action remakesLilo & StitchandHow to Train Your Dragon.
The arrival of the PG-13-ratedF1 The Moviecame at the perfect time to combat family movie fatigue with a major adult-oriented blockbuster. While it faces major competition from the PG-13 titles of July, includingJurassic World Rebirth,Superman, andThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, being the first of that slate also helped it stand out.
