Thanks to its critical and commercial success,F1 The Moviewill definitely be remembered as one of the standout films of 2025. Ever since its release on June 27, thesports moviehas dominated the box office. As of this writing,F1 The Moviehas grossed $571 million globally (viaBox Office Mojo).
This is incredibly impressive, especially sinceit has had to compete against several major franchise filmsthis summer. Thankfully, a slew of positivereviews forF1 The Movieensured that it would attract people to theaters.Screen Rant’s own Mae Abdulbaki gave the racing movie an impressive 8 out of 10 stars, and the film also has a critics score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.
There’s evena chance thatF1 The Moviewill be nominated for Best Pictureat the 2026 Academy Awards, which proves how influential it has been since its release. Regardless of any future awards success,it’s clear thatF1 The Movieis the biggest box office surprise of the yearand can definitely teach Hollywood some important lessons.
F1’s Box Office Is The Biggest Surprise Of The Year
Long before its release,F1 The Moviewas hoped to be a major box office hit. Apple invested hundreds of millions of dollars into the racing movie, essentially meaning it needed to earn a lot to be considered a success. This is precisely whyF1 The Moviewas marketed as a must-see theatrical experience.
Of course, it helped that the film was directed by Joseph Kosinski, who previously helmed movies likeTron: Legacy,Oblivion, and most notably,Top Gun: Maverick. TheTop Gunlegacy sequel is one of the most successful movies of this decade, making just shy of $1.5 billion in 2022. Therefore,there were reasons to have confidence inF1 The Movieahead of its release.
Furthermore,the cast ofF1 The Movieis led by Brad Pitt, who has been a bankable leading man for nearly three decades. Not only has it become yet another major success for the acclaimed actor, butF1 The Movieis now the highest-grossing movie starring Pitt. It’s worth mentioning thatDeadpool 2grossed more, but it only featured Pitt in a cameo role.
Highest-Grossing Movies Of 2025 (so far)
$1,899,873,280
96%
$1,028,328,424
72%
$955,149,195
48%
$800,368,830
51%
$623,587,255
76%
$595,555,354
80%
$579,194,652
83%
$571,161,000
82%
F1 The Movie’stotal box office haul solidifies it as one of the biggest successes of the year. As of this writing,it is the eighth-highest-grossing movie of 2025. This is on the worldwide chart; domestically, it was recently edged out of the Top 10 to land at no. 11.
The majority of the top-grossing titles are part of some of the most popular franchises and series in the world. EvenA Minecraft Movie, which technically isn’t part of an official film franchise (yet), is based on the most popular video game of all time. Therefore,it’s a major accomplishment thatF1 The Moviecan be included in this groupof massively successful films.
Additionally,F1 The Moviebeing able to grossmorethan several other franchise films is also a major accomplishment. It was not able to surpass the films in the above table, butits total box office haul is greater than movies likeCaptain America: Brave New World,Thunderbolts*, andSnow White. At the beginning of the year, practically no one would have predicted this.
Obviously, Formula One is a very popular sport, but that never guaranteed the film’s success. Instead, Kosinski and his creative team had to develop a compelling story to ensure thatF1 The Moviehad positive word of mouth. Without a doubt, they achieved their goal.
What Hollywood Can Learn From F1’s Box Office Success
There are several obvious takeaways from the astounding success ofF1 The Movie. Firstly, it seems like people want to see more movies starring Pitt. He has been a popular actor for many decades, butF1 The Moviecould potentially be the start of a new era for the actor’s career. He’ll likely be a hot commodity for studios in the coming years.
Secondly, there is definitely a demand for more movies directed by Kosinski. Following the success of bothTop Gun: MaverickandF1 The Movie,the filmmaker shouldn’t have any problems getting films greenlitin the coming years. Additionally, Kosinski will most likely directTop Gun 3, which will undoubtedly be one of the biggest movies of his career.
Thirdly, this success, and the growing popularity of F1 as a sport in general,could lead to many more racing films being greenlit. There have been some acclaimed racing films in the past, such asFord v FerrariandRush, but racing, and F1 in particular, has never been one of the most popular sports to adapt for a movie. However, it’s possible that this will now change.
Finally, and most importantly,this should make Hollywood studios realize that people still crave original blockbusters.F1 The Movieoutgrossing so many franchise films in particular emphasizes this, proving that audiences can be enticed by a good story that isn’t attached to IP. AsF1 The Movie’s theatrical run comes to an end, I hope plenty of skilled filmmakers get their chance to make big-budget, wholly original blockbusters.
