‘F1’ opens with $55 million, delivering Apple its biggest big-screen hit

“F1 The Movie” debuted with $55.6 million in North American theaters and $144 million globally over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing the tech company easily its biggest opening yet.

But “F1” was Apple’s first foray into summer blockbuster territory. It won a bidding war for the project from much of the production team behind the 2022 box-office smash “Top Gun: Maverick.” Apple then partnered with Warner Bros. to distributed the film starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and Kerry Condon.

With a…