‘Michael Biopic Tracking Toward Massive $1 Billion Box Office Milestone
The King of Pop’s long-awaited biopic ‘Michael’ has officially arrived in Japan, and the numbers are nothing short of spectacular. According to tracking data shared by box office analyst Luiz Fernando on X, the Antoine Fuqua-directed film pulled in an estimated $2.3 million on its opening Friday in Japan, including $653k from past-weekend limited IMAX previews, marking a record-breaking debut for any music biopic in the market.
Audience word of mouth out of Japan has been overwhelmingly positive, with the film maintaining a 4.2-star score from local audiences, placing it directly on par with the score ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ carried during its own launch cycle in the market. That comparison carries serious weight, given that the Queen biopic went on to generate enormous returns in Japan over its theatrical run and is widely regarded as a benchmark for music biopic performance in the country.
The global picture for ‘Michael’ has been building steadily since its April 24 release, with the film sitting at roughly $897.9 million worldwide heading into Japan’s opening weekend. The biopic has been closing in on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as the all-time highest-grossing music biopic, trailing that film’s $911 million worldwide total by less than $23 million. Japan was widely seen as the final major market needed to push it over the finish line.
Trade analysts had been heavily indicating that Japan’s surging pre-sale momentum would be the definitive driver to unseat ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as the highest-grossing musical biopic in cinema history. The opening day numbers appear to be validating that confidence. For historical context, Michael Jackson’s own 2009 concert documentary ‘This Is It’ generated a massive $57 million in Japan alone, representing one of the largest single-market contributions to that film’s entire foreign run.
Distributed in Japan exclusively by Kino Films, ‘Michael’ features Jaafar Jackson starring as his late uncle, with Antoine Fuqua directing from a script by John Logan. The film is produced by Graham King, the Oscar winner behind ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ The cast also includes Colman Domingo, Nia Long, and Miles Teller, and the film earned an A- CinemaScore alongside a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes despite a critical reception that left much to be desired.
In the lead-up to the Japanese release, distributor Kino Films orchestrated what it called the MICHAEL Tokyo Takeover, a wide-scale promotional campaign that included towering outdoor displays at TOHO Cinemas Ikebukuro, a massive building-wall display in Shinjuku, and a full aesthetic makeover of the Clappers Diner inside the Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro complex. The level of on-the-ground investment reflected just how much was riding on the market.
With a production budget reported at close to $200 million, making it one of the most expensive biopics ever made, ‘Michael’ had high expectations to meet coming in. Based on what Japan delivered on day one, the film appears to have exceeded them. A $6.5 to $8 million three-day opening in Japan, as projected, would comfortably dwarf ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’s’ entire opening weekend there, and push ‘Michael’ firmly into history as the biggest music biopic the world has ever seen.
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