Nobody can say that Apple has taken a lightweight contact in selling, “F1: The Film,” however the movie is being distributed theatrically by Warner Bros. — and Apple reportedly desires extra energy.
It is maybe an indication of confidence in how “F1” goes to fare on the field workplace, and it is positively a flip round from when Apple stated to be slicing again on each big-budget motion pictures and theatrical releases of them. In line with the Wall Road Journal, Apple executives at the moment are taking a look at shifting into movie distribution.
Apple does are likely to favor to personal the entire stack in any discipline, and a whole lot of its iPhone success has been all the way down to the way it controls every part from the processors to the software program. And in contrast to Netflix, Apple TV+ has additionally at all times pushed to have international rights to any manufacturing it reveals.
It is not at all times been profitable. Most not too long ago in March 2025, Apple TV+ thriller “Suspicion” was bought on by its makers to the UK’s ITV, due to Apple’s failure to safe whole rights.
Equally, whereas Apple TV+ is legitimately the primary streamer to win the Greatest Image Oscar, it did so with “CODA”, and it doesn’t absolutely personal the rights to that movie. Regardless of a reported “extremely heated” collection of negotiations, “CODA” isn’t owned by Apple in Japan, Mexico, Italy and another territories.
So Apple has at all times pursued management over possession, nevertheless it hasn’t tried movie distribution. With that, the prices and the complexities are such that Apple has relied on partnerships with different companies. Particularly, “F1” is definitely be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. — and if there is not an precise downside, there’s the potential for one.
Apple fought — and failed — to get international rights to “CODA,” which nonetheless then received it a Greatest Image Oscar
For Warner Bros. is after all additionally distributing motion pictures that it has produced itself. And a type of is the very high-budget “Superman,” which is because of be launched in cinemas two weeks after “F1.”
Consequently there must be a query over whether or not Warner Bros. would naturally put extra effort into advertising and marketing its personal present quite than Apple’s. A spokesperson for Warners stated no, the corporate is operating a “sturdy international advertising and marketing marketing campaign that befits a movie” of the scale of “F1.”
Below the take care of Apple, Warner Bros. will get an growing share of field workplace income relying on how nicely ticket gross sales go. So it’s within the distributor’s pursuits to advertise the movie extremely.
Nonethless, it is reported that unspecified sources accustomed to Apple’s plans, have stated that Apple executives at the moment are discussing beginning their very own theatrical distribution division.
The advantages and the prices to Apple
There are not any additional particulars at the moment. A brand new division would take time to arrange, in addition to presenting Apple with higher upfront prices for its movie advertising and marketing.
In 2024, the story was that “F1” was a check, that if it flopped as earlier high-budget Apple movies had, it might immediate a change to how the corporate produced movies — and what number of it did. Maybe as a consequence, there’s as but little data of Apple’s future plans in high-budget motion pictures, or a minimum of few particulars of a schedule.
There’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” which can debut in theaters on August 22. Its general funds has not been revealed, however stories declare that its star Denzel Washington has been paid $35 million — some $15 million greater than Brad Pitt for “F1.”
It is not a requirement that solely high-budget motion pictures get an excellent distribution deal, however they’re the films the place the distinction within the prices versus income shall be most noticeable.
If Apple does enter the theatrical distribution market, it may maybe achieve this with its as-yet-untitled UFO conspiracy thriller. It was revealed in March 2025 that Apple had spent tens of hundreds of thousands simply to signal the makers of “F1” to work on this, their subsequent undertaking, for the corporate.
