After dominating the box office this summer, “F1 The Movie” is making its way from IMAX theaters to a screen near you.
The sports film, starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and Javier Bardem, hit theaters in June and became an instant success, racking up over $630 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. It is also the highest-grossing sports film of all time, Apple TV said in a press release.
“F1 The Movie,” directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, tells the story of a Formula 1 driver named Sonny Hayes (Pitt) who was a star in the ‘90s with a promising career until he had a life-threatening accident on the track. Thirty years later, Ruben Cervantes, a friend and owner of a down-and-out Formula 1 team (Bardem), gets Sonny to return to racing, where he teams up with hotshot rookie Joshua (Idris).
Brad Pitt and Damson Idris filming for a formula one movie during the British Grand Prix 2023 at Silverstone, Towcester. on July 9, 2023. Tim Goode / PA Images via Getty Images
Bruckheimer described the film as a “redemption story” and an “emotional journey” when speaking with TODAY.com earlier this year.
“It was a thrill to do,” he said.
The movie also featured real F1 drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, who served as a producer and adviser on the film, too. To make the movie even more realistic, Pitt and Idris were actually behind the wheel racing the cars.
“I can’t explain it. You have to be in it to feel it, you know? But the brilliance of this movie is, through watching it, you feel like you’re in a car,” Idris told TODAY.com.
Now, fans can experience that feeling again, or for the first time, when “F1: The Movie” hits streaming. Read on to find out how to watch, below.
When is ‘F1 The Movie’ Streaming?
“F1 The Movie” will be available to stream on Friday, Dec. 12.
Where is ‘F1 The Movie’ Streaming?
The film, produced by Apple Studios, will stream on Apple TV.
What Have the Director and Stars Said About ‘F1 The Movie’?
The creative team behind “F1 The Movie” and the stars went to great lengths to make sure the movie accurately depicted Formula 1 racing.
Speaking about preparing for the movie, Bruckheimer told TODAY.com, “Damson Idris, who’s a rising young star, had to drive in these cars and train for three months, just like Brad (Pitt) did.”
He added, “But the brutality of what you go through in these cars that are going 180 miles an hour — they have to break down to 50. They’re taking 5 Gs in the corners. It is brutal.”
He also shared that the movie was shot at nine of the 22 different tracks around the world as the plot includes the last nine races of the season.
Bruckheimer said the stars had to drive “these cars at high speeds in front of 140,000 people and 10 million people, 100 million people” while also “remembering your lines at the same time.”
For Bardem, seeing the shots come together made him appreciate the sport more.
“Being part of the scenes with the driver, and being part of what it means to be a team, and the whole structure of what it takes to put those drivers on the track, it’s so much work,” he told TODAY.com. “And it’s very admirable to see the effort that it takes for so many people to make that car ready to go that speed.”