Brad Pitt’s upcoming movie will reportedly be one of the most expensive movie ever made. The actor is attached to a project set to be directed by “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski. So far, the title of this project is not revealed, but it’s based on Formula One racing. It was first announced in 2021 and follows a fictional Formula One driver who comes out of retirement to mentor and eventually team up with a younger driver on the Apex Grand Prix team. Apart from Pitt, the cast of the untitled movie also includes Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Lewis Hamilton, Javier Bardem, and Sarah Niles.
What makes Brad Pitt’s upcoming project one of the most expensive movies?
According to Puck‘s Matthew Belloni, Brad Pitt’s upcoming Formula One movie has become one of the most expensive ever, with a budget exceeding $300 million. There are certain reasons that contribute to the whooping budget of the upcoming film. One of the main culprits of this high budget is the SAG-AFTRA strick which delayed the production of the film which started in July 2023. The strike, which lasted for 118 days, significantly delayed the production of the movie. It’s not just Pitt’s project that got affected by the strike, as several other films like Fast X ($379M budget) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($326M budget), were delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. These delays became a crucial reason that led to the rise in the costs drastically.
Another reason why the Formula One film is so expensive is because it follows a similar approach of placing real actors in real race cars, much like “Top Gun: Maverick” did with aircraft. For instance, Pitt drove a modified Formula Two car with an added Formula One aerodynamic package during the British Prix weekend, though not in an official Formula One race.
This approach of putting real actors in real race cars requires an extensive amount of training and enhanced safety protocols, which can’t be avoided, thereby adding to the film’s budget, and explaining why the costs have ballooned over $300 million.
As reported, Formula One film’s budget is $300 million. If the budget is accurate, it would be tied for eleventh place among the most expensive films ever made, along with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Justice League, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Since the budget of the film is quite huge, it is facing obstacles to being released. As of now, it still doesn’t have a distributor or release date attached. Warner Bros. and Sony are seen as the frontrunners for distribution, though the film’s big budget and upfront financial demands have made it challenging for even traditional studios to handle.
With a $300 million budget, the Formula One film will have a tough road ahead to becoming profitable, as it will need to make $750-900 million at the box office just to break even.
So far, a potential release date for Brad Pitt’s Formula One racing film remains uncertain.
