Skipping F1 movie in theaters? Why you shouldn’t wait for Apple TV+ release

F1 The Movie is turning out to be the hit Apple was hoping for. Early box office results show it’s the company’s biggest theatrical success by far. But while plenty of people might be waiting for it to hit Apple TV+, here’s why F1 The Movie is uniquely worth seeing in theaters.

F1 offers unique theatrical experience that Apple TV+ can’t match

Apple is the iPhone company, a device that—for better or worse—movies and TV shows are commonly viewed on today.

But out of all the movies you might watch on an iPhone, F1 shouldn’t be one of them.

Many people aware of the F1 marketing blitz might think: “It’s an Apple movie, it will release on Apple TV+ eventually. I’ll wait until then.”

Yes, F1 will eventually hit Apple TV+. As my colleague Ben reports, a mid-fall release date is likely.

If you have a huge living room TV and great surround sound setup, F1 will likely be a great at-home experience.

One theme that’s come up constantly in early reviews, though, is that F1 truly deserves a theatrical viewing.

Why? Because the film’s goal of shooting ultra-realistic racing scenes is best achieved on the biggest screen possible—preferably IMAX.

David Chen writes in his newsletter Decoding Everything:

Where the movie really shines are its racing scenes. Pitt and Idris learned how to drive real F2 cars and Kosinski and team developed new camera systems to fit high-quality sensors into the cockpit of those vehicles. The result is a level of immersion one rarely experiences in the theater. It becomes easy to believe that these characters are actually in peril, driving at speeds in defiance of the Lord’s will and trying to dodge other cars and race obstacles along the way…I don’t know how to describe it other than that it’s one of the most impressive IMAX experiences I’ve ever had.

”It’s one of the most impressive IMAX experience I’ve ever had.”

Diving into the details of how F1 was shot helps explain why.

F1’s director on the movie’s racing scenes

In an interview covering the level of immersion F1 accomplishes, director Joseph Kosinski told Collider:

Apple proved to be the ideal partner for us. I feel like Formula One fits really well with just who they are as a company — innovating, design-driven. So, we were actually able to use some of their technology, because Formula One cars all have a pod right behind the driver’s head that carries a very tiny broadcast camera that transmits 720p video for the broadcast live. They allowed us to take their camera out and replace it with an Apple camera that recorded 4K raw video at 24p, and they allowed us to put that camera on two or three cars in every race. That means they weren’t getting a live feed from that car, but we were getting onboard high-quality recorded footage of what it was like to actually be in that race. So we use that footage throughout our film to kind of give the audience a real point of view of being inside a real F1 race.

In other words, F1 is the type of movie that offers a unique viewing experience when seen in IMAX or otherwise on the big screen.

Your at-home TV setup, or your iPhone or iPad, simply won’t be able to replicate the intended effect. Will F1 still be worth watching on Apple TV+? Sure, the film’s reviews are very strong.

But the theatrical experience, for this particular film, seems especially crucial.

Did you see F1 The Movie in theaters, or do you plan to wait for Apple TV+? Let us know in the comments.

Apple TV+ is available for $9.99 per month and features hit TV shows and movies like Ted Lasso, Severance, The Morning Show, Silo, and Shrinking.

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