The Michael Jackson biopic Michael is getting closer to topping $1 billion at the worldwide box office, a feat that has only been achieved by one other movie so far in 2026.
Starring Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, as the late King of Pop and Juliano Valde as the singer at age 10 with his brothers in the Jackson Five, Michael opened in theaters on April 24 and defied pre-release projections of a $65 million to $70 million opening and scathing reviews from critics to earn $97.2 million from 3,955 North American theaters. Combined with the film’s worldwide ticket sales, Michael earned more than $217 million at the global box office in its first three-day frame.
Rated PG-13, Michael tells the story of the legendary pop star from his beginnings with the Jackson Five through his rise as a solo artist with the multi-platinum albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. The film ends as Jackson embarks on his Bad solo tour in 1998. Michael also stars Colman Domingo and Nia Long as the singer’s parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson, as well as Miles Teller as Michael Jackson’s longtime manager John Branca.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, Michael is heading into its 12th week in theaters with $371.6 million in domestic ticket sales and $620.1 million in international receipts for a running worldwide box office tally of $991.7 million. While the film is winding down its domestic theatrical run — it made $492,000 from July 3-5 in North American ticket sales — the film is relatively new in theaters in Japan, where it has made $24.4 million since its June 12 debut.
As such, Michael has strong enough legs to push the film past the $1 billion global mark, maybe as soon as this weekend, because Japan has a massive Jackson fanbase. One positive indicator that Michael will earn much more in Japan is the success of the music documentary Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which earned $57 million in the country 2009.
Once Michael passes the $1 billion mark, it will only be the second film to do so this year after the animated blockbuster The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which has earned $1.010 billion worldwide to date.
In the unlikely event that Michael doesn’t get to the $1 billion mark this weekend, Lionsgate may very well rerelease the film in theaters in the fall as awards season begins to ramp up. While Michael was hated by most critics, it’s important to point out that the 2018 Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was also despised by reviewers yet went on to earn five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture.
While the film came up short in its bid for the top prize, it won Oscars in four other categories, including Best Actor for Rami Malek, so an awards season run is a very real possibility — especially considering that Graham King, who produced Bohemian Rhapsody, also produced Michael.
‘Michael’ Has Already Set A Pair Of Major Biopic Records
Less than two months after its release, Michael on June 14 surpassed the $911 million global total earned by Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018 to become the highest-grossing music biopic off all time, a record set five days after the film made its debut on digital streaming via premium video on demand.
Michael, however, wasn’t done setting biopic records. On June 28, Michael boosted its global box office gross to $977 million, passing 2023’s Oppenheimer’s global tally of $976.7 million to become the highest-grossing biopic — in all genres — of all time.
Apart from its wide release in Japan, Michael is still playing in 270 North American theaters going into the weekend.
