Michael Jackson’s ‘Michael’ Just Became One of the Biggest Movies in Box Office History

Box office milestones don’t come around often for movies about real people, a genre that usually plays it safe with modest, awards-friendly numbers rather than blockbuster totals. That’s exactly what makes the ongoing box office run of the Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael’ feel like such an anomaly in today’s theatrical landscape.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring the singer’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, the film opened back in April to a mix of skepticism from critics and genuine curiosity from audiences. Few expected the movie to become anything more than a solid theatrical run for a music biopic, especially given its rocky pre-release press cycle and mixed reviews.

Instead, ‘Michael’ has spent the past several months quietly demolishing box office records at a pace few biopics have ever managed. The film has now crossed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, officially becoming the first biopic in history to reach that milestone, according to Deadline’s tracking of the film’s international rollout.

That billion-dollar total breaks down to roughly $371.8 million domestically and $629.8 million overseas, numbers that place ‘Michael’ well ahead of previous genre record-holders like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Oppenheimer.’ The film officially passed Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer’ back in late June to become the highest-grossing biopic of all time across any genre, not just music-focused films.

Its domestic haul alone has also made it the highest-grossing biopic in U.S. box office history, surpassing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’s’ previous domestic benchmark by a wide margin. That kind of staying power at the North American box office is particularly notable given how rarely biopics manage sustained, blockbuster-level runs once their opening weekend buzz fades.

Beyond the genre-wide records, ‘Michael’ has also become the single biggest release in Lionsgate’s history, surpassing 2013’s ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’ to claim the title of the studio’s highest-grossing film ever. It marks the first time Lionsgate has had a movie cross the billion-dollar threshold at all.

The film’s pace toward these milestones has been just as impressive as the totals themselves. ‘Michael’ became the fastest music biopic ever to reach $500 million worldwide, hitting that mark in just its third weekend of release, a stretch that also made it the top-grossing music biopic domestically in North America at the time.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson credited the film’s success to its collaborative production, telling reporters in a statement reported by Deadline that Michael’s achievement reflects the studio’s partnership with producer Graham King, director Antoine Fuqua, and the film’s cast, alongside its work with the Michael Jackson Estate.

The film’s box office performance has also translated into a broader cultural moment for Jackson’s music catalog, with songs like “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” surging on streaming platforms following the film’s release. That crossover impact has helped sustain interest in the movie well beyond its opening weeks, contributing to its unusually long theatrical legs.

With Lionsgate reportedly eyeing at least one more film about Jackson’s life following this success, ‘Michael’ has proven that audiences are still willing to turn out in massive numbers for the right kind of music biopic, mixed reviews or not. The film’s journey from skeptical pre-release buzz to genre-defining box office phenomenon stands as one of the more surprising theatrical stories of the year.

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