Reviews for the movie are also very strong with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 84% critics and an early audience score of 97%. Word-of-mouth for “F1” is expected to be very strong, which could help it leg out as an alternative to superhero movies like “Superman” in the weeks ahead.

The Formula One racing pic starring Brad Pitt is a seminal moment for Apple's theatrical ambitions after several misses, while the 'M3GAN' sequel may come in well behind the first film.

Both “F1” and “M3GAN 2.0” don’t live up to critics’ hopes, but they’re still escapist fare needed more and more these days.