‘Michael’ Shrugs Off ‘Toy Story 5’ in Japan and Is Now Closing In on ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ for Second Place
Even with ‘Toy Story 5’ making a record-breaking splash in Japan, the Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael‘ barely blinked. As reported by Luiz Fernando, the film grossed an estimated $670,000 on its fourth Friday in Japan, a drop of just 6.1%, pushing its Japanese cumulative total to $28 million, which now makes it the third highest-grossing Hollywood release of the year in the territory.
That 6.1% Friday decline in the face of a major new release is a remarkable hold, and it sets the film up for a projected three-day weekend of $3 million to $4 million, a total that would keep it firmly embedded in Japan’s top three while rival titles compete for the weekend crown. With overwhelming positive word of mouth continuing to drive repeat viewings, analysts now expect ‘Michael’ to overtake ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ for the second spot among Hollywood releases of the year in Japan as early as next weekend.
‘Michael’ has now crossed $788 million globally, with $468 million accumulated overseas through Universal’s international distribution and $319 million domestically through Lionsgate. Japan’s enthusiastic response has been central to that total, given that it opened there on June 12 and has outpaced ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at virtually every comparable point in the market.
The broader trajectory of the film in Japan has repeatedly exceeded expectations. Japan’s relevance to the Michael Jackson fanbase was always anticipated to be significant, given that his 2009 concert documentary ‘This Is It’ made $57 million in the territory. The biopic has been performing above that benchmark in terms of pace, making Japan arguably the most impressive single-market story of its entire global run.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s real-life nephew, in his acting debut, ‘Michael’ carries a price tag near $200 million, split between Lionsgate, Universal, and the Michael Jackson estate. Given the scale of its global reach, it now stands as one of the most successful bets the studio has made in years.
The film returned to number one at the domestic box office in its fourth weekend with $26.1 million, making it only the second film of the year to clear $700 million globally at that point, behind ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.’ Since then, the ongoing performance in Japan has kept the cumulative total climbing week after week without the kind of precipitous drop typically associated with a film this deep into its theatrical run.
With the global total now approaching $970 million and Japan continuing to deliver solid Friday-to-Friday holds, the billion-dollar conversation remains very much alive. The question is no longer whether the film has earned its place among the all-time great music biopics, but how high it can go before the theatrical window closes for good.
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