UPDATE: 2025-05-31 08:30 EST BY BRENNAN KLEIN
F1 Debuts Slightly Higher Than Saturday’s $55M Projections
This article was originally written Saturday AM and has been updated Sunday AM with up-to-date box office projections (in bold), a full chart, and further analysis.
F1: The Moviehas had a record-breaking opening weekend at the domestic box office. The new movie, which was directed byTop Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and stars Brad Pitt as fictional Formula One driver Sonny Hayes, is a hotly anticipated property that also features Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, and Javier Bardem.
TheF1: The Moviereleasekicked off during the reign of the live-action remake ofHow to Train Your Dragon. The DreamWorks movie opened on June 13, taking No. 1 at the domestic box office with a 3-day opening weekend of $84.6 million.It also topped the chart during its sophomore weekend, beating new releases28 Years LaterandElio.
PerDeadline, as of Sunday morning,F1: The Movieis projected to earn a 3-day opening weekend of$55.6 millionat the domestic box office. This marksthe best opening weekend in history for an Apple Studios movie. On Friday, it had already surged past the previous record-holder, 2023’sKillers of the Flower Moon(which debuted with $23.2 million).
$55.6 million ismore than enough forF1: The Movieto toppleHow to Train Your Dragonfrom the top spot on the domestic chart during its third weekend. It also far exceeds its fellow new release, which is the Blumhouse killer robot sequelM3GAN 2.0.
While 2023’sM3GANwas a $180 million smash hit, the sequel is only projected to premiere with$10.2 million, whichfalls considerably short compared to the original’s $30.4 millionopening weekendand isn’t even enough for it to land in the Top 3, instead seeing it debut at No. 4. See the full Top 5 chart for the weekend below:
1
$55.6 million
$55.6 million (weekend 1)
2
$19.4 million
$200.5 million (weekend 3)
3
$10.7 million
$42.2 million (weekend 2)
4
M3GAN 2.0
$10.2 million
$10.2 million (weekend 1)
5
$9.7 million
$50.3 million (weekend 2)
While there has been a lot of movement on the Top 5 in general,Pixar’sEliohas remained stalwart at No. 3 witha not-bad 49% drop during its sophomore weekend. However, its $42.2 million domestic total and cumulative worldwide total of $73 million pale in comparison to its huge reported budget of $150 million.
Meanwhile, the Danny Boyle sequel28 Years Laterhad a harsher 68% drop, which is not unusual for the sophomore weekend of a horror release, but is still the worst for the franchise by far. It is dropping from its debut position at No. 2 all the way down to No. 5, speeding pastElio, which previously debuted behind it.
With two new titles joining the Top 5,both holdover titles that debuted on Memorial Day weekend have fallen off the chartafter remaining there for five consecutive weekends.Lilo & Stitchhas fallen from No. 4 to No. 6 whileMission: Impossible - the Final Reckoninghas fallen from No. 5 to No. 7.
What This Means For F1: The Movie
It Is On Track For Success Despite Its Huge Budget
The newBrad Pitt movieis off to a remarkable start in more ways than one. In addition to being projected to earn the eighth-best domestic debut of 2025 so far,it will also become one of the 15 highest-grossing domestic movies of the yearin a matter of just three days.
However, the release still has a way to climb. The reportedbudget ofF1: The Movieis $200 million. Generally, movies need to earn back two and a half times their budgets in order to break even in theaters, which means thatit might need to surpass $500 million worldwide in order to be considered profitable in theaters.
Only three Hollywood movies (A Minecraft Movie,Lilo & Stitch, andMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning) have surpassed that milestone so far in 2025, andeach of them had a higher opening weekend thanF1: The Movie($162.7 million, $146 million, and $64 million respectively).
Our Take On The Weekend Box Office
Family Movies Are No Longer Dominating The Summer
WhileM3GAN 2.0is not showing as much promise as its initial projections (which had it opening around $30 million),the success ofF1: The Moviegives the summer its first adult-oriented hit. The chart has been dominated byLilo & StitchandHow to Train Your Dragonsince Memorial Day, so the reign of family movies has now ended.
The success ofF1: The Moviecould ignite a run of PG-13 movies taking No. 1, as July will see the arrival of theupcomingJurassic World Rebirth,Superman, andThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, with only the PG-ratedSmurfsand the R-ratedI Know What You Did Last Summershaking things up when they premiere simultaneously on July 18.
