Brad Pitt's "F1" has huge opening weekend 

"F1," which stars Pitt as a race car driver who comes out of retirement, made $55.6 million domestically. That was right in the middle of the expectations, but some had been skeptical that the movie would deliver audiences in the seats. However, Formula 1 is big internationally, and "F1" proved big internationally as well. It made $88.4 million in the rest of the world, leaving the film on the cusp of $150 million.

Now, this was no cheap movie to make, but it is still going to turn out to be a box-office success. With the long 4th of July weekend around the corner, the good buzz around "F1" could lead to another strong weekend for Pitt and company. Plus, there's no need to sweat the financial situation of this film's studio, which is Apple (Warner Bros. is the distributor since Apple doesn't have a distribution infrastructure). "F1" is the first Apple film that is going to prove a theatrical success, and will best Ridley Scott's "Napoleon" as its biggest box-office success before next weekend is out.

Yes, this is a movie heavily branded with the biggest racing league in the world. It comes to us from Apple. Still, when a movie that is quasi-original is a hit like "F1" is, it's good for movie enthusiasts the world over. It's not going to all be "A Minecraft Movie" and live-action remakes of animated films. We can get "Sinners" and we can get "F1" and we can still say we have movie stars.

(h/t Variety)