Formula 1 News: Brad Pitt's F1 movie one of most expensive ever

(GMM) The makers of the 2025 film called ‘F1’ and starring Brad Pitt have hit back at reports the movie’s budget tipped the scales at an incredible $300 million.

If true, the immense budget would almost put the movie, which has been filmed during Formula 1 race weekends with modified F2 cars, in the top ten most expensive productions of all time.

In comparison, The Last Jedi cost $300 million – while Titanic only cost $200 million back in 1997.

But while producer Jerry Bruckheimer admits the Hollywood strike and delays last year added to the costs, he says the $300m price-tag is wildly wrong.

“It’s tens of millions of dollars out of whack in the wrong direction, and in the right direction for us,” he told Hollywood news publication Deadline.

“Plus, we’ve raised more money for our (filming) car than some Formula 1 teams,” Bruckheimer added, referring to on-car sponsorship including Expensify, the Lewis Hamilton-linked Tommy Hilfiger, IWC and others.

“You take that all into consideration and it really drops that number quite a bit lower than what people would think.”

However, he refused to say exactly how much the movie is actually costing.

“We can’t give you a number because that’s Apple’s money and they can talk about it,” said Bruckheimer. “But what I think you can say is it’s quite a bit lower than what’s been reported.”

Director Joseph Kosinski agreed: “I’m just going to say I’m used to having a lot of the movies I’ve worked on over-reported for whatever reason. But I’ve never had an experience where they were off by this much on a film.

“I’m not sure where that number came from.”

May 11, 2024

Brad Pitt is set to star as Sonny Hayes, a beloved Formula One driver forced into retirement in an upcoming over budget film from director Joseph Kosinski.

While an F1 flick has the potential to be a big hit, the film is allegedly going to be one of the most expensive movies ever made, so it has to be really successful who the producers, one of which is Lewis Hamilton, will lose their shirt.

Initially projected with a substantial budget, the actual expenses ballooned as the production involved the use of genuine race cars and rigorous safety protocols. These elements, while aiming to provide an authentic racing experience, have notably inflated the costs.

The financial trajectory of ‘Apex’ became even more precarious due to delays brought on by the Screen Actors’ Guild and Writers’ Guild of America strike in 2023. The interruptions not only delayed filming but necessitated reshoots of some scenes, adding to the financial strain.

As initially reported by Puck News, the untitled movie (rumored to be called ‘Apex’ but with no confirmed name yet) has already surpassed the $300 million budget, even without a distributor. That puts the sports movie up there with 2017’s Justice League, which wasn’t quite a hit.

Apple has seemingly been in talks to release the film, and even went as far as to reach out to IMAX, though it has not been confirmed, nor has a release date.

The cost was reportedly due to delays in production, and the use of authentic racing cars only exacerbated the already large budget.

Kosinski knows a thing or two about big-budget blockbusters. Kosinski directed Top Gun: Maverick with a budget of roughly $175 million, and that ended up doing pretty well.

To cover its escalated costs, ‘Apex’ must generate over $750 million in global box office revenues, a challenging feat even for a star-studded blockbuster.