'Michael' Hits Record-Breaking Box Office Milestone

Following its theatrical debut on Apr. 24, director Antoine Fuqua’s Michael biopic has become one of the year’s biggest hits as it approaches the later stages of its run on the big screen. Featuring the late Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, Jaafar, in the lead role, this film explores the early years of the Grammy-winning singer’s life, starting from his days with the Jackson 5 in the 1960s and ending in 1988, during the height of his Bad Tour. While Fuqua’s film already has a digital release date set in the coming days, this is not expected to slow down the money train for its stay in theaters.

Michael debuted with the second-best domestic opening of the year, grossing $97.2 million in North American markets; it ranks only behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which pulled in $131.7 million in its opening weekend. The only other movie to gross more worldwide in its first weekend this year was The Devil Wears Prada 2, and Michael has only continued to dominate the charts in the six weeks since its initial premiere. Now, that success has continued to such a level that it is breaking records for the studio that brought it to life.

According to Deadline, the Michael biopic is expected to become Lionsgate Films’ highest-grossing movie ever during its seventh weekend in theaters. As of Thursday, Jun. 5, it has grossed $346.6 million at the domestic box office and more than $508 million outside of North America, bringing its worldwide total to over $854.6 million. As of writing, 2013’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($865 million worldwide) and 2012’s Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2 ($868.5 million lifetime worldwide, $829.7 million in its initial theatrical run) are the studio’s two highest-grossing movies. This means Michael only has to gross about $12 million this weekend to take the title.

While Michael’s box office returns have gone down every week, it has grossed no less than $11.8 million domestically in its first six weeks in theaters. Even if that gross goes for the next weekend, looking at the domestic and worldwide returns, it would be more of a shock if Michael does not pass that Breaking Dawn — Part 2‘s total in the next three days.

Michael is already the second-highest-grossing musical biopic in history, only trailing the $910.8 million haul of 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which featured Rami Malek as the late Freddie Mercury. After ranking as one of the four highest-grossing movies of the weekend in each of its first six weeks, there is no end in sight for how high Michael could potentially climb on the all-time box office charts.

Michael is playing in theaters wordwide, and it will be available for purchase digitally on Jun. 9, 2026.