‘Michael’ Has Quietly Become One of the Most Unstoppable Biopics in Box Office History
Few films in recent memory have defied expectations quite like ‘Michael’, the authorized biopic chronicling the rise of the King of Pop. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, in his feature film debut, the Lionsgate production arrived in theaters on April 24 carrying years of turbulent production history, a divided critical reception, and lingering controversy over what the film chose to leave out.
None of that seemed to matter to audiences. The film shattered expectations in its opening weekend, pulling in a record-smashing domestic debut and an equally impressive international launch, fueled by a global fanbase eager to see Jackson’s early life and music legacy brought to the big screen. The opening weekend figures ranked as the best start of all time for any biopic, decisively overtaking the record previously held by ‘Straight Outta Compton’.
What has followed is the kind of theatrical staying power that studios dream about. In its sixth weekend of release, ‘Michael’ crossed the $850 million mark worldwide and simultaneously climbed past ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1’ to become the third-highest-grossing film in Lionsgate’s domestic history. Those two milestones arriving in the same weekend are exactly the kind of rare double achievement that the film’s title story from the screenshot highlighted, and both carry significant weight in how the industry will measure this release for years to come.
Globally, ‘Michael’ has also crossed into the all-time Top 100 highest-grossing films worldwide, surpassing the cumulative total of 2018’s ‘Venom’ to claim a spot on that elite chart. Nearly 60 percent of the film’s global revenue has come from international markets outside the United States and Canada, underlining just how deeply Jackson’s legacy resonates across the world.
The road to this point was anything but smooth. The production saw multiple delays, significant reshoots, and a restructured third act after legal complications arose involving a settlement that restricted how certain individuals could be dramatized on screen. Critics were largely unmoved by the finished product, with many pointing to the film’s decision to sidestep the child sexual abuse allegations that defined much of Jackson’s later public life. Despite the negative reviews and the controversy surrounding those omissions, Jackson’s solo catalog hit a career-best 137.5 million official on-demand streams in the United States for the week following the film’s release, a rise of 146 percent from his previous all-time high.
With Japan still scheduled to open the film on June 11, trade analysts have shifted their attention toward whether ‘Michael’ can unseat ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as the highest-grossing music biopic in cinematic history. Producer Graham King worked on both films, having previously guided ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to its $910 million global total, which means a victory here would be a remarkable personal milestone as much as a studio achievement. A digital release is already confirmed for June 9, giving the film a new revenue window just as its theatrical run begins to wind down.
Whether you believe ‘Michael’ deserved its massive audience or feel the film pulled too many punches to truly honor its subject, the box office story it is writing is undeniable, so the real question worth debating is whether a sequel focusing on the ‘Thriller’ era could ever match the cultural moment this first chapter has created.
