For some reason, there are quite a few film pundits out there who love to trash a film for having a big budget. Obviously, there are some instances where a huge budget isn’t a great thing—if the film’s budget ballooned over the course of the production. But there are quite a few times when a big budget is just the cost of doing business, such as with effects-heavy blockbusters. Lately, one of the films that has been getting trashed for having a high budget is none other than “F1.” And according to the two men with knowledge of the budget, the reports about “F1” being one of the most expensive films in recent memory are way off.
READ MORE: ‘F1’ Teaser Trailer: Brad Pitt’s Formula One Movie Races Into Theaters Summer 2025
Speaking to Deadline, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joseph Kosinski talked about the budget for the upcoming sports drama, “F1.” Why did they get asked about the budget? Well, there have been reports stating the film’s budget has exploded to over $300 million. And if that’s the case, the film would have to be a $1 billion blockbuster to recoup the costs. However, according to the guys working on the film, that budgetary estimate is off. Way off.
“It’s completely, unfortunately, tens of millions of dollars out of whack in the wrong direction, and in the right direction for us,” said Bruckheimer. “What people don’t realize is, first of all, we’re shooting in rebate [locations], England has a big rebate, lots of Europe has rebates and so does Abu Dhabi. It all lowers the budget. Plus, we’ve raised more money for our car [through sponsorship] than some Formula 1 teams. You take that all into consideration and it really drops that number quite a bit lower than what people would think… We can’t give you a number because that’s Apple’s money and they can talk about it. But what I think you can say is it’s quite a bit lower than what’s been reported.”
Kosinski added, “I’m just going to say I’m used, on a lot of the movies I’ve worked on, to having them 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.”
Now, it would be silly to assume “F1” would have a budget under $100 million. It’s just not that type of film. Judging by the teaser, it’s clear why this is an expensive film. In fact, when Bruckheimer said “tens of millions,” you’d probably assume the film cost around $200 million. That’s still an absolutely massive number, but not nearly as crazy as $300 million.
Of course, it doesn’t matter what the budget is if the film ends up being a huge blockbuster. It’s got a good release date (June 27, 2025) and it has a massive star in the lead (Brad Pitt). Not only that, but Kosinski’s most recent film, “Top Gun: Maverick” ended up earning $1.5 billion. So, “F1” has the potential to be a huge summer hit, especially around the world where F1 racing is one of the biggest sports.
We’ll just have to wait and see.