It’s Super Bowl Sunday which means we’re going to be getting a handful of anticipated trailers/teasers coming in this evening. First up, and released online, a few hours before the big game, is the teaser for Joseph Kosinski’s “F1” starring Brad Pitt. It looks very slick.
Fresh off the massive success of 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kosinski’s latest is being produced by Apple, with Warner Bros. hopping onboard as distributor, and setting up a wide theatrical release on June 27, 2025. The deal with Warner Bros will guarantee a theatrical bow of at least 30 days, if not longer.
“F1,” which stars Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon and Tobias Menzies, follows a formula one driver (Pitt) coming out of retirement, who ends up mentoring a younger protégé (Idris), and taking his final stab at glory on the track as the younger driver’s teammate.
After slight delays due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, in which Kosinski still managed to find a loophole to continue shooting the racing scenes, shooting on this one only wrapped in December. The film had started production in July 2023 — that’s 16 months in production.
A recent Puck report via Scott Mendelson hinted that, most likely due to delays and reshoots, Kosinski’s film had a budget of well over $300M. Suffice to say it, this needs to be an incredible commercial success. Apple/Warners are banking hard on European audiences, who are much more familiar with F1 than U.S. moviegoers, and will no doubt be fronting ticket sales for this one.
Before “Top Gun: Maverick,” Kosinski was mostly known for directing the Tom Cruise starring sci-fi film “Oblivion,” “Tron: Legacy” and “Only the Brave.” He’s brought his ace ‘Maverick’ cinematographer, Claudio Miranda, along for the ride on “F1.” Kosinski’s become one of the most sought-after blockbuster filmmakers in the industry — the box office performance of “F1” will either soar or crash his stock in the industry.
Paul Greengrass’ "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, opened to $3.2M from 2,068 theaters this weekend. Yikes. The budget hasn’t been disclosed, but is said to be in the $20-$30M range.