Lionsgate Celebrates ‘Michael’ Crossing a Historic $1 Billion With New Teaser

Michael Jackson’s story has always resisted easy categorization, and so has the studio that finally decided to bet everything on bringing it to the big screen. Lionsgate built its reputation on scrappy franchise gambles like ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘John Wick,’ never quite reaching the scale of the major studios it competed against.

That changed the moment ‘Michael‘ hit theaters back in April. The Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic opened with a record-breaking global weekend, and the momentum never really stopped from there, carrying the film through milestone after milestone all summer long.

Now ‘Michael’ has officially crossed the billion-dollar mark at the worldwide box office, becoming the first film in Lionsgate’s history to reach that figure. The achievement instantly places the Michael Jackson biopic among a very small group of films that have ever cleared a billion dollars globally in a single theatrical run.

The road there was a steady climb rather than one giant leap. ‘Michael’ opened domestically to $97.2 million, breaking the record previously held by ‘Straight Outta Compton’ for a music biopic debut, while its combined worldwide opening weekend landed at roughly $217 million.

From there, the film kept knocking down records. In June, ‘Michael’ passed ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’s’ $911 million lifetime total to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever made, and shortly after that, it overtook Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ to claim the title of highest-grossing biopic of all time, regardless of subject matter.

That milestone was confirmed directly by a Lionsgate representative speaking to Rolling Stone, cementing ‘Michael’s’ place ahead of two of the most commercially dominant biographical films of the last decade. Along the way, the film also surpassed ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ to become Lionsgate’s single highest grossing release of all time.

Jaafar Jackson, Michael’s real life nephew, leads the film in his acting debut, portraying his uncle’s rise from the Jackson 5 through the height of his solo career. He is joined by Colman Domingo and Nia Long as Joe and Katherine Jackson, along with Miles Teller and Laura Harrier rounding out the supporting cast, while Juliano Valdi plays a younger version of Michael.

Behind the camera, producer Graham King, who also produced ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ worked alongside the Jackson estate to bring the story to the screen, though the production was far from smooth. Reshoots reportedly costing as much as $50 million were required after the estate flagged a settlement clause barring any depiction of one of Jackson’s accusers, forcing the filmmakers to rework the film’s entire third act and shift its ending toward Jackson’s preparation for his 1987 ‘Bad’ tour.

King addressed that choice directly in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, saying they chose to tell the uplifting story of Jackson’s triumph. That framing has drawn some criticism, including from Jackson’s daughter Paris, who said in comments reported by Rolling Stone that she had given notes on an early draft that were never addressed and ultimately stepped back from the project entirely.

Despite that friction and a mixed critical reception that sits well below its audience reaction, ‘Michael’ has clearly connected with mainstream moviegoers in a way few biopics ever manage. The film closes on the on-screen text “The Story Continues,” and Lionsgate has already confirmed a sequel is in development to carry Jackson’s story into its later chapters.

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