Michael Moonwalks Past $700 Million in Just 24 Days
Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic keeps packing theaters and accelerating its global momentum.
If you told me a few months ago that the Michael Jackson biopic would be blasting past the $700 million mark worldwide, I would have laughed. Seriously. There was buzz, sure, but this kind of haul is in Hunger Games territory—and, no, I don’t think anyone expected that.
Michael Moonwalks Over $700 Million
Here’s where we’re at: after just 24 days in theaters, Michael (yeah, that is actually the title) has raked in $703.8 million around the globe. This is according to Box Office Mojo, which is still dusting off its calculator.
- Domestic total: $282.8 million
- International total: $421 million
- Worldwide grand total: $703.8 million (and counting)
The film dropped in theaters on April 24 with a $97.2 million launch from just under 4,000 screens. Antoine Fuqua is behind the camera, for those curious, and the movie covers Michael Jackson from his Jackson Five childhood all the way into his solo stardom years.
Fourth Weekend—And Still at #1?
For most movies, the fourth weekend means slow fades and empty multiplexes. Not for Michael. On the May 15-17 weekend, the movie made another $26.1 million domestically—including leading on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It even topped the charts again on Sunday, pulling in $8.18 million just in the US.
That puts the movie slightly ahead of The Passion of the Christ at the same point in its run—which is wild considering how huge that movie felt at the time.
Where Does This Rank for Lionsgate?
As far as Lionsgate’s concerned, Michael just crashed their all-time leaderboard. Only The Hunger Games: Catching Fire sits higher, with an even more ridiculous $864.9 million worldwide to date. So, yeah, this biopic now sits in the same financial stratosphere as dystopian YA blockbusters. Seriously, think about that for a second.
The current tracking has Michael likely wrapping up between $375-$400 million in North America alone. Not too shabby for a production that supposedly cost $155 million to make (and that’s not even the most expensive biopic ever).
The Competition Was No Slouch
What’s maybe even more surprising is how Michael shrugged off some stiff competitors: The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mortal Kombat II, and Obsession all dropped around the same timeframe. Didn’t matter—people kept coming back to the King of Pop’s story, apparently.
One More Stat for the Road
In case you’re a numbers nerd: 59.8% of the box office is coming from international markets. That’s a lot of overseas love. The film is PG-13, clocks in at 2 hours and 7 minutes, and—at least for now—shows zero sign of disappearing from theaters anytime soon.
"Nobody saw this coming." (If you know box office pundits, you know that’s probably the understatement of the year.)
So, hats off to Michael—for now, it’s dancing circles around almost everything else Lionsgate has ever released. If you like financial surprises in Hollywood, this one’s for you.