Michael overtakes Bohemian Rhapsody with $1 billion in sight
Michael just moonwalked past Bohemian Rhapsody to become the top-grossing musical biopic worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo — and with Antoine Fuqua’s hit still surging, the $1 billion club is suddenly in play.
If you had told me fifteen years ago that we'd all be living through successive waves of musical biopics battling their way up the box office charts, I'd have said calm down, it's not that deep. And yet here we are: 'Michael', the Michael Jackson film directed by Antoine Fuqua, has just moonwalked straight past a seriously big milestone, moving itself solidly into the record books—and giving Lionsgate a reason to pop every bottle in their marketing department's fridge.
A New King of Musical Biopics
According to Box Office Mojo, 'Michael' has now outperformed 'Bohemian Rhapsody', making it (as of mid-June) the highest-grossing musical biopic... literally ever. For years, Freddie Mercury was top of the heap with that Queen film earning $911 million globally. 'Michael' has just hit $932.2 million. And, to make things even more lion-tastic, that's also officially the biggest release in Lionsgate's history, overtaking 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' and its rather healthy $865 million lifetime tally.
Breaking Down the Numbers
- Worldwide box office (as of 14 June): $932.2 million
- Previous record-holder 'Bohemian Rhapsody': $911 million
- Lionsgate's previous best ('Catching Fire'): $865 million
- Domestic take (US and Canada): $362.8 million
- International total: $569.4 million
To give you a sense of scale, the film opened to $97.2 million in the States and Canada alone. That is the highest opening weekend for any musical or biographical film, blowing past 'Straight Outta Compton's $60.2 million debut from 2015. Meanwhile, worldwide launches across all territories added another $121.6 million, presumably prompting every film finance person who ever doubted biopics to stare meaningfully out of a rain-streaked window.
Some Box Office Trivia, If You're Into That Sort of Thing
'Michael' took a 44% dip in its second weekend, earning $54 million (putting it just behind 'The Devil Wears Prada 2', for those keeping score). IMAX screenings alone coughed up $24.4 million during the opening weekend, which is apparently the biggest IMAX debut for a musical biopic ever. Tiny subset? Maybe. Impressive? Also yes.
Home Release, Legs, and Sequel Talk
Lionsgate put the film out on Digital HD 9 June, but even with streaming in the mix, it snagged around $4 million in the US in its eighth weekend—yes, eighth—spread across just over 2,250 cinemas. For those needing meticulous Friday–Sunday maths: box office was $1.3 million, $1.6 million, then $1.3 million over the respective days. Not exactly world-dominating at that stage, but nothing to sniff at either given how fast most cinema releases drop off in week eight.
And because no modern box office behemoth is complete without a franchise plan, Lionsgate already has a sequel in the works. Fuqua has said there's enough on the cutting room floor (and from Jackson's later life) to make a follow-up. Jaafar Jackson, Michael's actual nephew, is back as Jackson. Word is, the budget ballooned a bit after reshoots—anywhere from $155 million up to $200 million.