Apple Studios is scoring its biggest opening ever with the Brad Pitt racing thriller “F1,” headed for first in its box office debut. Meanwhile, Universal’s “M3GAN 2.0” isn’t catching the same spark in its opening, projecting a fourth place start behind holdovers “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Elio.”
On top, “F1” hit the track with $25 million across Friday and previews from 3,661 locations. (A small asterisk: that’s boosted by $2.8 million from specialty screenings dating before Thursday, the weekday when wide releases traditionally first start collecting grosses.) The movie is playing in Imax auditoriums and most other premium-large formats too. Apple outsourced distribution here, partnering with Warner Bros. The team-up has made a splash.
Industry tracking was all over the place for “F1,” given the relative rarity of big-budget adult-skewing productions outside of established film franchises (though the Formula One Group’s branding and grand prix racing tournaments are still globally popular IP — the basis for most summer tentpoles). “F1” is now on pace to hit the upper end of its pre-weekend forecasts, which were predicting a debut as high as $60 million. The movie is already Apple’s biggest opening weekend ever, surpassing the $23.2 million three-day bow of “Killers of the Flower Moon” on Friday.
It’s a sizable stateside launch for “F1,” and the film is expected to be heavily buoyed by international grosses given Formula One’s popularity overseas. Apple spent big on its stab at a summer blockbuster, at a production budget north of $200 million. Of course, Apple is also a multi-trillion-dollar tech giant, with one theatrical release having relatively little immediate impact on its bottom line, especially compared to traditional studios. Still, the company would like to deliver a hit here and establish itself as a true theatrical presence, especially after its expensive 2024 commercial plays, “Argylle” and “Fly Me to the Moon,” failed to find footing in theaters.
The duo of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joseph Kosinski (coming off delivering a monster hit in 2022 with “Top Gun: Maverick”) have delivered another crowdpleaser with “F1.” Reviews have been positive and audience pollster Cinema Score delivered a glowing “A” grade. Those great notices could portend strong staying power, if “F1” can keep up as “Jurassic World: Rebirth” and “Superman” release in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, the android actioner “M3GAN 2.0” earned a muted $4.5 million across Friday and preview screenings. It’s now projected for a three-day debut of $10.4 million. That’s way behind its projections for $20 million and just over a third of what the first “M3GAN” earned in its breakout opening back in January 2023, lifted by the momentum of TikTok dancing meme-dom.
It’s not a flattering comp considering Universal and Blumhouse/Atomic Monster doubled the spending for this sequel. At a $25 million production budget, the film is still much less of a financial burden than the average franchise play. All told, “M3GAN 2.0” doesn’t need to draw a massive crowd to turn a profit (and the “B+” grade on Cinema Score indicates good buzz from viewers).
But this is shaping up to be a rough drop-off from the box office performance of the original “M3GAN” — not to mention this sequel garnered much worse reviews. The failure to deliver a franchise opening is all the more rankling considering a spin-off, titled “Soulm8te,” has already been shot and slated for a January 2026 release from Universal. “M3GAN 2.0” continues what has been a quiet year for Blumhouse, which has kept with its tradition of tight budgets, but hasn’t found much upside in titles like “Wolf Man,” “The Woman in the Yard” and “Drop.” The banner’s next at-bat is another sequel, “The Black Phone 2,” releasing from Universal in October.
Meanwhile, Universal can still claim second place with “How to Train Your Dragon,” which added another $5.7 million on Friday and is projecting a 48% drop for a third-weekend gross of $19 million. The live-action remake has a shot at surpassing a $200 million domestic total through Sunday, and will soon after fly ahead of “Captain America: Brave New World” ($200.5 million) to rank as the fourth-highest-grossing North American release of 2025.
Disney and Pixar’s “Elio” is narrowly projected for third, earning another $3.2 million on Friday. (That’s more than “M3GAN 2.0” after factoring out Thursday preview grosses.) The original alien adventure is actually looking at a good hold in its second outing, though not strong enough to overcome its rough opening weekend, which broke the record for Pixar’s lowest ever. “Elio” has now earned $34.7 million domestically through its first eight days of release — a disappointing start for the $150 million production.
Rounding out the top five, Sony’s “28 Years Later” is getting a big bite taken out of it. The hopeful trilogy-starter earned $3 million on Friday and is projecting a second weekend of $9.5 million, down 68% from its opening. Great reviews haven’t shielded director Danny Boyle’s zombie thriller from a sharp drop. Domestic total is expected to hit $50 million through the first 10 days. A sequel, “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” has already filmed and is expected to release in January. Boyle has openly discussed that financing for a third and final entry is dependent on box office performance.