Summer has officially arrived, and so has Brad Pitt, making a high-octane return with his much-anticipated film F1: The Movie, which opened to impressive numbers across Indian theatres. According to industry tracker Sacnilk, the film earned approximately Rs 5.25 crore net on its first day (Friday), across all languages. The English 2D version posted an overall occupancy of 27.82% on its opening day. The film began modestly with 13.93% occupancy during the morning shows, gained momentum to reach 27.14% in the afternoon, rose further to 28.35% in the evening, and peaked at 41.84% during the night shows.
Regionally, Chennai led with a strong 43% occupancy, followed closely by Hyderabad at 40.75% and Kochi at 31.75%. Surprisingly, key metropolitan markets like Mumbai and Delhi lagged behind, recording only 22.25% and 20.5% occupancy, respectively. Among the premium formats, English 4DX registered the highest occupancy across all languages and formats at 68%, followed by English IMAX at 58.57%, and English ICE at 39.94%.
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While F1: The Movie is generating significant buzz and audience anticipation, it still fell short of surpassing the opening day record of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which had collected Rs 16.5 crore on day one. However, Pitt’s latest outing did outperform other recent major Hollywood releases in India. It beat Karate Kid Legends, starring Jackie Chan, which opened with Rs 1.75 crore, and his own previous film Bullet Train, which collected Rs 0.45 crore on its first day.
The film features Brad Pitt as a veteran race-car driver who returns to Formula One after three decades to revive a struggling team and save his former teammate’s legacy. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, best known for the global blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, F1 has already surpassed Top Gun: Maverick’s Indian opening day numbers, which stood at Rs 4.89 crore.
With largely positive reviews and soaring audience interest, all eyes are now on how F1: The Movie performs in the coming days. However, its box office run will be tested by competition from regional releases such as Sitaare Zameen Par, Maa, and Kannappa.
