‘Michael’ Is About to Do Something No Music Biopic Has Ever Done Before
Music biopics have had a rough track record when it comes to living up to expectations at the box office, with most struggling to crack even a few hundred million dollars worldwide before fading from theaters. That made the run of Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Michael‘ feel unusual from the very beginning, defying pre-release skepticism to post one of the strongest opening weekends the genre has ever seen.
The film earned 97.2 million dollars domestically on opening weekend, a record for a biographical musical film, before combining with international ticket sales for a total worldwide opening of roughly 218.8 million dollars. By June 14, it had already crossed 911.9 million dollars globally to dethrone ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as the highest-grossing music biopic ever made, and the momentum has barely slowed since.
Now the film is on the verge of a milestone no music biopic has ever touched. LOVE flagged the excitement building around the film, noting that ‘Michael’ is expected to surpass one billion dollars at the global box office by tomorrow, a number that would place it in genuinely rare company.
According to Forbes, the film currently sits at 991.7 million dollars worldwide, needing only a modest push from its ongoing strength in Japan to cross the billion dollar threshold, which would make it just the second film to hit that mark in 2026 after Universal’s ‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie,’ which currently stands at 1.010 billion dollars worldwide. Japan’s massive Jackson fanbase has been cited as a key factor in the film’s late surge, drawing comparisons to the 57 million dollars the 2009 concert documentary This Is It earned in the country alone.
The road to this milestone has not been smooth. The production required roughly 50 million dollars in reshoots after the Jackson estate flagged a legal issue tied to a settlement clause barring the depiction of one of Jackson’s accusers, forcing the filmmakers to rework the entire third act and shift its focus toward Jackson’s preparation for the 1987 Bad tour instead.
Critical reception has remained decidedly mixed throughout the run, with the film holding just 38 percent positive reviews and a 4.9 out of 10 average rating on Rotten Tomatoes, even as audiences awarded it an A minus CinemaScore.
Jaafar Jackson stars as his uncle in the title role, marking his feature film debut, with Juliano Valdi playing a younger version of the singer alongside supporting turns from Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, and Laura Harrier. The film has already become Lionsgate’s highest-grossing release of all time, and Lionsgate confirmed a sequel is officially in development as of May 21.
Even accounting for a brief stretch in late June when weekly growth slowed and fans worried the billion-dollar mark might slip out of reach, the film’s current 991.4 million dollar total breaks down to roughly 371 million dollars domestically against 620 million dollars internationally, with particularly strong runs continuing in Japan, France, Brazil, and Mexico.
Do You Think 'Michael' Deserves to Become the First Music Biopic to Cross $1 Billion?
If Forbes‘ projection holds, ‘Michael’ will close out its historic run as not just the highest-grossing music biopic and biographical film ever made, but as one of only two films this entire year to reach the billion-dollar club.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!
