Apple’s F1: The Movie has exceeded all expectations at cinemas, with the film about to top $600 million at the worldwide box office since its premiere on June 27.
Following its extended theatrical window, F1: The Movie is now available to buy or rent on-demand at digital stores like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and more.
This release follows the standard pricing pattern for what the industry calls the “premium video on-demand” window, or PVOD. This means the film is available to rent for $20 or buy to own for $25.
When the film finally leaves cinemas for good, the price will follow suit and fall to standard digital release pricing.
The digital release is in 2.39:1 aspect ratio. IMAX fanatics were hoping for a 1.90 ratio format; perhaps that will arrive in the future. The digital release includes iTunes Extras featuring about 45 minutes of bonus content material.
Of course, Apple financed and produced the film which means it is set to become a flagship title on the Apple TV+ soon, where it will be available to stream at no additional charge for subscribers. But F1 still does not have an official streaming release date.
Based on the pattern from Apple’s previous theatrical movies, you can expect the PVOD window to be exclusive for a month or two. This would mean the F1 release date on Apple TV+ will likely be sometime in October or November (as predicted by us months ago).
Why does Apple wait so long to get the movie on TV+? There are few factors.
For one, cinemas usually demand a window of theatrical exclusivity so that their business is not undermined by a simultaneous streaming debut.
Secondly, Warner Bros. is a partner on the distribution of the film, and they get a cut of box office and PVOD sales.
Thirdly, the film was very expensive to make — with budgets in the $200-300m range — and Apple wants to recoup as much of that cost too.
With a top-line box office takings of $600 million, Apple will keep about 40% of that. Incorporating marketing costs and profit from PVOD, Apple is on track to break even on the film, which essentially gives them a blockbuster title for Apple TV+ ‘for free’.
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