Michael Just Had a Weekend That Could Make Box Office History by Sunday

Long theatrical runs are supposed to fade quietly, with weekly grosses shrinking until a film slips out of headlines entirely. Eleven weekends into release, ‘Michael‘ is doing the opposite, still pulling in numbers strong enough to keep box office trackers checking their spreadsheets daily.

The Michael Jackson biopic added another $7.24 million at the worldwide box office this past weekend, a total that would be a modest showing for most new releases but is a genuinely impressive hold for a film that has already been in theaters for months. Even more notable is where that money came from, with international holds remaining unusually solid this deep into the run.

Newer markets Japan and Russia accounted for $4.7 million of that weekend total on their own, with their combined cume now sitting at $56.6 million and still climbing. That kind of late-stage contribution from two territories is rare for any film, let alone one already approaching its billion-dollar milestone.

With those numbers factored in, ‘Michael’ now sits at a $991.4 million global tally, according to Box Office Mojo, putting it within striking distance of becoming the first biopic in history to cross the billion-dollar mark. The film has earned $371.2 million domestically and $620.1 million internationally to reach that total.

Japan and Russia entered the film’s release calendar later than most territories, which has effectively given ‘Michael’ a second wind just as its earlier markets began to slow. Japan alone has become one of the biggest Hollywood releases of the year there, recently ranking as the country’s third highest grossing Hollywood film, while Russia has continued adding steady weekly totals of its own.

That late arriving momentum is precisely why analysts believe the billion dollar crossing could happen within days rather than weeks. If the current pace holds through the coming weekend, ‘Michael’ would clear the threshold by Sunday. If not, most projections still expect the milestone to land shortly after.

‘Michael’ has already rewritten the record books more than once this year, surpassing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever and later passing ‘Oppenheimer’ to claim the title of highest-grossing biopic of any kind. Crossing a billion dollars would place it in territory no biographical film has ever reached, regardless of subject or budget.

The film opened in April with a record-breaking $217 million global weekend and stars Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s real-life nephew, in his acting debut as Michael Jackson. Given how much weight Japan and Russia continue to carry more than eleven weekends in, the countdown to that historic billion-dollar mark looks like it could wrap up any day now.

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