More on “F1 The Movie” Success, Capex vs. Depreciation, Keep an Eye on Big Tech Headcount
Happy Monday. We will kick off a new week of updates with some follow-up to topics that we discussed last week.
Let's jump right in.
More on “F1 The Movie” Success
In what probably shouldn’t have come as a complete surprise, some people aren’t happy about the way Apple's “F1 The Movie” is being talked up in terms of box office receipts. The film pulled in another $26M this past weekend in the U.S., bringing worldwide gross to $293M.
Over on a site called Cosmic Book News, Matt McGloin doesn’t understand why people are claiming “F1 The Movie” is a success given its budget and the estimated figure needed for the film to break even.
Here’s McGloin:
“Sure, it’s nice to see something original open for once, and which is also a crowd-pleaser (97% RT fan score), but at the end of the day, this isn’t about ‘artistic wins’ or ‘social media buzz.’ F1: The Movie needs to make money. And right now, it’s looking like it’s stuck in reverse.”
McGloin wasn’t alone in holding such an attitude as a few social media accounts made a similar point. Interestingly, a common theme to such criticism seems to be interest in the superhero film genre. It’s possible that some people are upset that an increasing number of superhero films are being labeled as flops or duds while “F1 The Movie" receives positive commentary and praise.
The point regarding “F1 The Movie” needing to pass a certain box office threshold to reach breakeven deserves follow-up.
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More on Apple’s “F1 The Movie” Marketing, Apple Needs to Do More Ecosystem Marketing
Hello everyone. Welcome to July.
A quick programming alert.
A new AVALON podcast episode is available.
“Don’t Lose Brad Pitt’s Phone Number” was about “F1 The Movie,” Apple TV+ strategy, movie theater headwinds, and more. The unscripted weekly podcast, loosely modeled after Apple’s famous Monday morning meetings, is a perfect complement to this daily newsletter. Above Avalon members receive special subscription pricing for AVALON. More information is available here.
Let's jump into today's discussion.
More on Apple’s “F1 The Movie” Marketing
In addition to what we can refer to as traditional marketing for “F1 The Movie” (cable, print, brand partnerships, etc.), Apple leveraged its ecosystem to push the film.
Consider the following examples of how Apple tied in its various services, apps, and products to get the word out about “F1 The Movie”:
Apple News / Apple Podcasts: A GQ profile was highlighted by the Apple News team and turned into an Apple News+ Narrated podcast.
Apple Maps: Users can see “iconic tracks” from “F1 The Movie.” See the image below.
Apple Wallet: The (controversial) Apple Pay promotion for "F1 The Movie" tickets purchased through Fandango.
Become a member to continue reading today’s update. Already a member? Read the full update here.
An audio version of this update is available to members who have the podcast add-on attached to their membership.
Member Privileges and Benefits
Become an Above Avalon member and receive the following privileges and benefits:
Exclusive Analysis. Receive the Above Avalon Daily newsletter, widely-recognized as the leading daily newsletter dedicated to Apple. Now in its tenth year.
Archive Access. Access previous newsletters sent to members.
Member Forum Access. Access all channels in the Above Avalon forum in Discord.
Email Access. Receive timely responses from Neil to email inquiries.
Access to Add-ons. Customize a membership with the AVALON, Podcasts, Inside Orchard, and Financial Models add-ons.
Above Avalon Support. Play an active role in supporting Above Avalon as an independent voice and resource.