Dear Gossips,
Brad Pitt scored a victory over the weekend—no, none of his kids talked to him—as F1 opened with $144 million globally, the biggest global launch of Pitt’s career to date. It’s also Apple’s first box office win (they backed the film, with Warner Brothers acting as their distribution/marketing partner), and for Joseph Kosinski, it’s proof Top Gun: Maverick wasn’t a Tom Cruise-induced fluke, and he’s got some special sauce audiences like seeing in theaters.
Of that haul, $55.6 million came from North America, and $27.7 million came from IMAX, which is especially good news for F1’s next couple weeks, as that film has a lock on IMAX until Superman arrives on July 11. In all, it’s great news for Apple, Brad Pitt, and Formula One—which might log some more US-based fans whose interest is piqued by the film. The film’s budget ($200-300 million) is challenging to long-term profitability, but with Apple splitting marketing costs with Warners, never mind whatever F1 kicked in for promotional consideration, F1 should be a winner for everyone involved.
And, frankly, cinemas needed this movie to hit like it did, because June was dismal. After a surprisingly strong spring led by Sinners’ breakout success, June was very nearly DOA, with fewer than normal films released—ahead of an unholy busy July, truly poor planning everyone!—and with many of those films, including Thunderbolts*, proving only mildly interesting to audiences, at best. I can’t help but wonder if Fantastic Four should have led off the summer, and Thunderbolts* could play in the softer month of August, which also would have spread out the superhero movies more this summer.
Anyway, the box office really needed the boost it got from F1, but even with the film’s opening weekend providing some last-minute gas, June was bad. Exempting The Covid Years, this could be the worst box office June in a couple decades. Now, the pressure is on July to make up for it and save the summer. With Jurassic World Rebirth, Superman, and Fantastic Four all coming out over the next four weeks, it should be able to at least make 2025 “not the worst summer”, though I still think releasing two superhero movies two weeks apart is a huge mistake. I sincerely hope I’m proven wrong.
Every time I write about box office, someone inevitably emails to say that movie theaters suck and should die. Okay, but what replaces them? Because what we’ve learned since 2020 is that there is no economic engine for the film industry like theatrical distribution—streaming cannot come close to supporting the industry like theaters do. If we want movies, we NEED theaters to thrive (if you don’t actually want movies, just say that). But for the record, there actually is a $2+ billion plan to improve tens of thousands of screens across North America. I wish there was less concern about “dining experiences” at a damn movie theater, but as long as they’re upgrading sound and projection, too, fine, I’ll take it. But pickleball can stay in the f-cking park where it belongs.
Here's Lewis Hamilton at the Formula One Austrian Grand Prix on the weekend.
Live long and gossip,
Sarah
