What does F1 have in common with Barbie?

Hamilton’s 104th career win was one big moment at Silverstone, but the other was the release of the trailer for the newly-titled ‘F1’ film – Brad Pitt’s next box-office-big-bucks-generator, due to hit cinemas in June 2025. 

The name came as a surprise to some. We certainly feel for anyone reporting on it – when you search ‘F1’, what comes up? Bit of a broad search field! 

In reality though, it’s pretty tactical.

Think back to last summer… the summer of Barbie. One of the biggest films of the year, Greta Gerwig’s award-winning fantasy comedy provides a hard economic model. By transporting its IP onto the big screen, Barbie’s original creator – Mattel – supposedly earned five percent of box office revenue, as well as a percentage of profits as a producer of the movie, PLUS payments for use of the IP itself. At $2 billion in box office revenue, that’s a whopping $100 million at a minimum.  

So, with filming on Brad Pitt’s Jerry Bruckheimer-produced, Apple Original Films/Warner Bros. International movie including valuable F1 Paddock real estate, in the form of a fully kitted-out garage and a motorhome, with access to existing drivers and teams, F1 is well-embedded. 

It’s unlikely to see the same jaw-dropping returns as Barbie, but one thing’s for sure… like Mattel, F1 is about to come into some serious cash.