LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, June 29 (Reuters) - The

high-octane racing film "F1: The Movie" roared to the top of the

domestic box office this weekend, according to Comscore.

The movie, which stars Brad Pitt as a Formula 1 racer who

returns to the track after an accident nearly ended his career,

brought in $55.6 million in ticket sales in the United States

and Canada. That tally blew past the $45 million to $55 million

pre-weekend domestic forecast from The Boxoffice Company.

Worldwide receipts topped $88 million, propelled by the

sport's strong fan base in Europe and Latin America.

Racing films typically sputter in theaters, according to

Daniel Loria, senior vice president of The Boxoffice Company, a

theatrical ecommerce and data services firm. The most successful

of the genre, the widely acclaimed "Ford v. Ferrari," opened to

a modest $31 million in November 2019.

"We haven't had that many movies about car racing that have

broken through," Loria said.

One notable outlier is the "Fast & Furious" action series

that expanded beyond its street racing roots to include heists,

espionage and an improbable moon shot.

"F1" had several factors weighing in its favor. The film's

director, Joseph Kosinski, brought the same high-intensity

cinematic treatment of Formula 1 racing that he lent to the

fighter jet sequences in his 2022 movie, "Top Gun: Maverick."

Netflix's "Drive to Survive" series also helped fuel the

popularity of Formula 1 racing, particularly in the United

States.

Apple ( AAPL ) put some marketing muscle behind the movie,

an Apple Original Film that Variety reported cost in excess of

$200 million to make. The tech giant touted it during CEO Tim

Cook's keynote at this year's Worldwide Developer's Conference,

and offered a movie discount to iPhone users. Apple Music also

amplified the film's soundtrack.

The film represents a bid for mainstream success for Apple ( AAPL ),

whose previous cinematic efforts, such as director Martin

Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," garnered critical

acclaim but brought in a modest $68 million in domestic box

office proceeds.

(Editing by Mark Porter)