As Formula 1 continues to have discussions about the future of its U.S. media rights, the racing property is hoping the strong opening for a new feature film starring Brad Pitt may be just the thing to help push those talks over the finish line.

Brad Pitt, who grew up in Springfield, Mo., just posted the biggest opening weekend of his career with the movie, "F1."

F1: The Movie has been in theaters for just under a week, and early tallies are in: It smashed box office expectations by netting $144 million in its worldwide debut.  The impressive figure means F1 is the most successful Apple Original film in history,