Michael Jackson is still breaking records 17 years after his death. Earlier this month, “Michael,” the Lionsgate biopic about the late, great singer/songwriter, surpassed $1 billion at the global box office, as reported by the New York Times. The milestone is a watershed moment for the continued legacy of the 13-time Grammy winner.
“Michael,” starring Jackson’s nephew Jafaar Jackson in the lead role, overcame titanic obstacles to get to this point. Before the film’s April 24 release, it was all but universally panned by critics, receiving a 38% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Their main complaint seemed to revolve around the lack of acknowledgment of Jackson’s past child molestation accusations. Director Antoine Fuqua did include the 1993 accusations against Jackson in the original cut, but had to omit the footage for legal reasons, leading to reshoots and its opening day being rescheduled from 2025 to 2026. Critics still chose to lambast the film despite the news of the reshoots being reported nearly a year before the film’s release.
Patrons ignored the frosty and sinister critical lashing, and made the “Michael” movie what Michael the man was: a worldwide phenomenon. Here are the records it broke along the way.
Highest-grossing opening weekend for a music biopic
“Michael” reached No. 1 at the domestic box office with $97.1 million and earned $217 million globally after its opening weekend, according to Billboard. It was the highest-grossing opening weekend for a musical biopic, beating the N.W.A. biopic, “Straight Outta Compton,” which opened at $60.1 million in 2015.
Highest-grossing musical biopic ever
Less than two months after its premiere, the movie that follows the King of Pop’s life and career from 1966 to 1988 became the highest-grossing music biopic of all time after passing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the biopic about British rock band Queen and frontman Freddie Mercury. By June 12, “Michael” reached $911.9 million globally, overtaking “Bohemian Rhapsody” at $910 million, as reported by People. “Michael” producer Graham King also produced “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Highest-grossing biopic ever
Two weeks after usurping “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the highest-grossing music biopic, “Michael” became the highest-grossing global biopic after passing “Oppenheimer,” the 2023 biopic about atomic bomb maven J. Robert Oppenheimer. On June 28, as reported by Variety, “Michael” hit $977.4 million, compared to the “Oppenheimer” $975 million global earnings. “Michael” also became the highest-grossing domestic biopic after passing “The Passion of the Christ,” the 2004 film about the last hours of the life of Jesus Christ. Just a week after passing “Oppenheimer,” “Michael” reached $371 million at the U.S. box office, more than “The Passion of the Christ,” which peaked at $370 million.
First live-action 2026 film to reach $1 billion
While “Michael” became the first biopic ever to cross the billion-dollar threshold, it currently stands as only the second film this year to reach $1 billion globally. “Michael” joins “Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” the sequel to the animated 2023 hit, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” currently is at $1.011 billion in box office earnings, making “Michael” the only live-action film to cross the $1 billion threshold so far in 2026.
“Michael” achieved this success not only despite its critical reception, but also after the film became available for video-on-demand on June 9. Lionsgate and Universal released physical copies of “Michael” on July 14, available on BluRay, DVD, and 4K Ultra BluRay. Lionsgate confirmed in May that a sequel has officially been greenlit, with studio chief Adam Fogelson telling Variety that “25 to 30%” of the sequel has already been shot, from Fuqua’s footage for the first film.
