Among the numerous musical biopics that have arrived in theaters in recent years, few have managed to generate the anticipation and attention reserved for Michael. The colossal dedicated to the life of Michael Jackson is in fact proving to be an authentic global phenomenon and, while the first part continues its run in theaters all over the world, it has already managed to reach a goal that until recently seemed difficult to surpass.
The film directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson has in fact won the title of highest-grossing musical biopic in the history of cinema, ousting Bohemian Rhapsody, the film dedicated to Freddie Mercury and Queen that has dominated this special ranking since 2018, from first place. With a global gross that reached 911,9 million dollars, Michael managed to surpass the previous record held by the film produced by Graham King, the same producer who curiously also signs the new project dedicated to the King of Pop. A result that confirms once again how much the figure of Michael Jackson continues to have extraordinary relevance with the international public.
The film’s run, moreover, does not seem to be over yet, in fact the release in Japanese theaters could in fact represent the last major boost needed to push production beyond the billion dollar wall, a milestone that in 2026 has only been reached by Super Mario Galaxy Movie. If he were to succeed, Michael would enter an extremely small circle of productions capable of exceeding a threshold that still remains one of the most coveted goals of the film industry today.
Behind this success there is also a particularly troubled production. Lionsgate had to face considerable additional costs during the making of the film, going so far as to invest about 50 million dollars in new filming to change some parts of the script signed by John Logan. A complex and expensive choice that, in light of the results obtained, proved to be a winning one. Analyzing the takings in detail, Michael has so far collected $358.6 million in the North American market, while the rest of the world has contributed another $553.3 million. An impressive performance that highlights the strength of the Michael Jackson brand globally and the film’s ability to attract viewers in very different markets.
The comparison with Bohemian Rhapsody makes the extent of the result even more evident. The film dedicated to Queen had closed its commercial run with $216.6 million in the United States and $694.3 million in international markets, figures that for years were considered almost unattainable for a musical biopic. In addition to the all-time record for the genre, Michael broke numerous other firsts, became the highest-grossing film in Lionsgate’s history, recorded the best global debut weekend ever achieved by a musical biopic and established itself as the highest-grossing musical biopic ever in the US market as well.
The international numbers are equally impressive, with 65 territories recording the best debut ever for a musical biopic, while in over 40 markets the film has already surpassed the total takings achieved by Bohemian Rhapsody. Countries such as Brazil, France and Mexico have contributed significantly to this extraordinary result. While the film continues to accumulate record results in international theaters, fans’ attention is already turned to the future of the project. After this extraordinary commercial exploit, in fact, the expectation is growing to know the official plans regarding the second part of the story dedicated to Michael Jackson, a chapter that could further transform what has already become one of the greatest cinematic successes of recent years.
