‘Michael’ Refuses to Let Go of Japan’s Number One Spot, and the Numbers Keep Climbing

The Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael’ is proving as unstoppable internationally as it has been everywhere else. The film held the number one spot at Japan’s box office into its second weekend, according to tracking data shared by box office analyst Luiz Fernando on X, grossing an estimated $1.2 million on its second Friday with a modest 38.8% drop from its opening day, bringing its Japanese cumulative total to $13.6 million.

The film opened to approximately $2.3 million on its first Friday in Japan, marking the second largest Hollywood opening day of the year in that market, behind only ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2.’ The strong hold into week two, with no major holiday periods in play, underlines just how powerfully the film has connected with Japanese audiences.

The broader global picture is even more striking, with ‘Michael’ having already become the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, crossing $911.9 million worldwide with $358.6 million domestically and $553.3 million internationally. The Japan run now positions it to cross the billion-dollar threshold and become only the second film to do so at the global box office in 2026.

The film’s audience score in Japan sits at 4.2 stars, a figure that industry watchers have noted sits directly in line with the metrics ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ carried during its own Japan launch, a film that ultimately generated $114 million in that market alone. If the parallel holds, ‘Michael’ could be looking at a genuinely historic run in one of the world’s most music-devoted cinema markets.

According to Luiz Fernando’s projections, the film is on track to surpass ‘Wicked: For Good’s’ $13.9 million Japanese total by the end of its second weekend, which would make it the fifth-highest-grossing Hollywood release of the year in Japan, with further momentum potentially pushing it past both ‘Hoppers’ and ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ to claim the number three spot locally.

The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, with Jaafar Jackson starring as his uncle Michael Jackson in the Lionsgate and Universal co-production. Producer Graham King has effectively broken his own record, having also produced ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ the four-time Oscar-winning Queen biopic that previously held the all-time music biopic box office crown.

Japan’s outsized enthusiasm for the film aligns with decades of unusually deep affection for Michael Jackson’s legacy in the region, which has historically outperformed other international markets for Jackson-related releases. That cultural affinity, combined with strong word of mouth from local audiences, suggests the film’s second weekend is just a waypoint rather than a peak.

With the worldwide gross already deep into record territory and Japan still building, the King of Pop’s big screen legacy run shows little sign of slowing down.

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