As usual, the summer movie season saw several new franchise installments hit the big screen, many of which achieved box office success. However, this year has also seen some notable original offerings become massive hits — and not just in the horror genre. One of the most lucrative titles from the summer is the racing drama F1: The Movie. The latest from director Joseph Kosinski obviously leans heavily into the worldwide popularity of Formula One racing, using the sport as a recognizable brand akin to Marvel or DC, but it isn’t part of an established film series. The decision to give F1 a wide theatrical release in the middle of summer paid off in spades, as it’s beaten one of this year’s more notable sequels.
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As of this writing, F1 has grossed $604.8 million at the worldwide box office (via The Numbers). That’s more than enough to clear the $597.9 million earned by Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. In an unexpected development, Brad Pitt has topped his old Interview With a Vampire co-star Tom Cruise at the box office — with a film helmed by Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick director to boot.
How F1‘s Box Office Compares to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
F1 was able to top The Final Reckoning because it was a (slightly) stronger draw overseas. The racing drama earned $418.9 million from international markets, compared to $400.5 million for Mission: Impossible. Domestically, The Final Reckoning won the showdown, out-grossing F1 $197.4 million to $186 million. This can likely be chalked up to Formula One’s global popularity. While Cruise is one of the biggest movie stars in the world, F1 is one of the biggest sporting events in the world. It’s experienced growth in the United States over the years, but Formula One is still a bigger deal in international territories — making the film more of a draw overseas than stateside.
It isn’t surprising F1 was a box office hit, but it’s arguably a shock to see it earn more than The Final Reckoning. The eighth Mission: Impossible film was essentially marketed as the Avengers: Endgame of the long-running action series, bringing a close to decades-long storylines and character arcs. While The Final Reckoning leaves the door open for subsequent installments, the movie operates as a grand finale. This was seemingly Paramount’s strategy to make The Final Reckoning feel like an event after Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning got swept up in the Barbenheimer phenomenon and didn’t meet expectations.
The Final Reckoning might have been able to top F1 if it had better word of mouth. Though the last Mission: Impossible has a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%, the film was considered a step down when compared to some of its predecessors. F1 not only has a higher Rotten Tomatoes score (83%), the consensus was it was a fun, old-school summer blockbuster bolstered by the performances and chemistry of Pitt and his younger co-star Damson Idris. If The Final Reckoning had been as acclaimed as Mission: Impossible – Fallout or Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, that could have either boosted the domestic numbers even further or closed the gap internationally. Just under $7 million separate Final Reckoning and F1, so this was a close race.
In what’s proven to be a record year for Warner Bros., F1 has emerged as one of the studio’s most notable box office stories. Proving there’s still a place for an original blockbuster in the summer months, it’s become the highest-grossing movie of Pitt’s career and given Kosinski more clout to pursue projects such as his untitled UFO conspiracy thriller. Topping a Mission: Impossible movie is another feather in F1‘s cap, and it’ll be interesting to see if Kosinski’s next film is another massive hit.
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