F1® The Movie did more than bring Formula 1 to the big screen — it rewrote the box-office record books and gave the sponsorship world its most fascinating case study of 2025. Within this movie, brands could actually pay to sponsor the fictional teams depicted. SponsorUnited tracked 20 of those brand deals inside the film itself, a unique data point exclusive to the platform, and modeled what each of APX GP's fictional partnerships would have been worth on the actual 2024 grid.

The result: A fan favorite that earned more than $630M at the global box office, reset expectations for what a sports film can be, and quietly demonstrated the powerful commercial opportunity hiding in plain sight on an F1 car.

A Box Office Phenomenon

F1® The Movie became the highest-grossing sports film of all time, the #9 grossing film worldwide in 2025, and the highest grossing film of Brad Pitt’s career. The scale of the production matched the scale of the result.

That last line is where this story gets interesting for the sponsorship industry. Twenty brand deals appeared inside the film, making for a category of inventory that's nearly impossible to benchmark anywhere else.

APX GP: Modeling a Fictional F1 Sponsorship Program

Per Forbes' Matt Craig, F1® The Movie generated more than $40M in real sponsorship dollars from the brands that appeared on the APX GP car and around the team's in-film footprint. We took that a step further.

Using SponsorUnited's SPND pricing platform, we modeled what each of APX GP's deals would have been worth had the team actually competed on the 2024 F1 grid — applying real benchmarks from comparable assets, categories, and team tiers.

The estimated total: $45M, or roughly £35.6M across all APX GP deals.

APX GP — Estimated Revenue by Partner

All figures estimated using the SponsorUnited SPND platform.

The Whitespace: Categories Underrepresented in F1

APX GP's deal mix highlighted something more strategic than valuation. GEICO's appearance — at an estimated $2.5M to $2.75M for a rear wing flap and press backdrop — is a reminder that insurance is one of the most underrepresented categories on the F1 grid, with just three deals across all teams in 2024.

For the right brand in an underrepresented category, F1 still offers genuine commercial whitespace. The fictional grid showed where the real one has room to grow.

$9M – $12M Left on the Table

APX GP's program also illustrated a pattern SponsorUnited sees on real teams: significant unsold inventory hiding in plain sight.

At least $6.8M (£5.4M) in APX GP inventory went unsold and unaccounted for. Once you factor in assets typically packaged into broader deals, the real shortfall is closer to $9M – $12M in additional revenue the fictional team could have captured.

Highest-Value Unsold Assets

These are the same assets real teams routinely under-monetize. The film made the gap visible.

Why This Matters Beyond the Movie

•       F1® The Movie is the highest-grossing sports film of all time — and a cultural moment that extended F1's global reach well beyond the grid.

•       In-film brand deals are a category SponsorUnited uniquely tracks, surfacing a layer of inventory the industry has historically had no way to benchmark.

•       Modeling APX GP against real 2024 team data shows where opportunity sits: title sponsorship economics, underrepresented categories like insurance, and unsold premium assets like rear wings, visor strips, and steering wheels.

•       For brands evaluating F1 entry — and for teams looking to close their own inventory gaps — the fictional grid is one of the clearest commercial briefs of the year.

Sources

SponsorUnited F1 Sponsorship Intelligence Report 2025–26 · SponsorUnited SPND Platform · Forbes (Matt Craig) · Apple Original Films.