The Michael Jackson biopic has overtaken the Elvis Presley film to become the second-highest-grossing music biopic in cinema history, grossing $577 million since its April 24 release.
The Antoine Fuqua-directed film, starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, 29, pushed past Elviswhich earned $288.7 million worldwide in 2022, after a third weekend that brought in an additional $95 million.
It takes Michaeltotaling $240.4 million domestically and $336.88 million internationally.
Only Bohemian RhapsodyThe 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic sits above it with $910.8 million worldwide.
The film’s box office has been remarkable right from the beginning.
Its opening weekend brought in $97 million domestically and $120.4 million internationally for a global debut of $217.4 million, the biggest domestic opening for any biopic, surpassing Oppenheimer‘s $80 million debut in 2023, and the best worldwide opening for a music biopic.
It broke records in 63 countries on its opening weekend, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Australia and South Asia.
France has been a particularly strong market, with Michael topped the box office there most recently with $7.2 million in its third weekend.
The film is also expected to open in Japan in June.
The success is all the more striking given the controversy surrounding the production.
The film’s total cost reached $200 million after producers Graham King and Lionsgate scrapped any reference to the abuse allegations that followed Jackson in the later years of his career, forcing 20 days of additional filming at a cost of $50 million.
Critics have been largely unkind, the film currently holds a 35 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences have clearly reacted differently.
For Lionsgate, Michael representing its biggest debut since the pandemic and its sixth-biggest opening of all time. It has also become the second biggest opening of the year so far, only behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
