'Michael' rewrites box office history worldwide

Late pop star's biopic becomes genuine global phenomenon that is on track to set records country by country

LOS ANGELES:

The 'Michael' Jackson biopic is not merely a hit. It has become a genuine global phenomenon. Fresh data from Russia, Brazil, and Japan suggests it still has significant runway left.

With the film now tracking to become the first official Hollywood release of the year to cross $20 million in Russia, sitting atop Brazil's yearly chart, and dropping only around ten percent in its Japanese debut weekend, the momentum behind Antoine Fuqua's biographical epic shows no meaningful signs of slowing down.

The film has already dethroned 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, crossing $911.9 million worldwide, with $358.6 million earned domestically and $553.3 million internationally. The film set a string of records along the way, including the largest global opening weekend ever for a music biopic, the highest-grossing domestic biopic of all time, and the most successful biopic in French history, surpassing 'La Vie en Rose.'

Japan was the major remaining territory that had yet to open when the film crossed Bohemian Rhapsody's total, and analysts noted it could be the market that pushes 'Michael' past the billion-dollar mark, which would make it only the second film to cross that threshold at the global box office this year, behind 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.'

The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua from a screenplay by John Logan. It stars Michael Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role alongside Colman Domingo as Joseph Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Scruse-Jackson, Miles Teller as John Branca, and Mike Myers as record executive Walter Yetnikoff.

Critics have been largely harsh on the film, which currently holds a 39 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, largely due to the decision to exclude any reference to the abuse allegations made against Jackson. Despite those reviews, audiences have embraced it warmly, with the film dropping just 44 percent in its second weekend, a retention rate that would be considered exceptional for any release.

The road to release was turbulent. Lionsgate was forced into $50 million worth of reshoots after the Jackson estate flagged a key plot point in the original screenplay involving one of Jackson's accusers, who was never intended to be dramatized in the film. The final cut ends with Michael at the beginning of the Bad World Tour, before the first allegations arose.

What makes the global performance genuinely remarkable is how evenly the enthusiasm has spread. Whether in France, Brazil, or now Japan, audiences have turned out in numbers that suggest the pull of Jackson's legacy operates on a frequency that transcends geography, controversy, and critical opinion in equal measure.

Development began in November 2019, when it was reported that the producer Graham King had secured the rights to produce a film about Jackson, with Logan attached to write. Lionsgate announced the film in February 2022. In January 2023, Fuqua was announced as the director, and Jaafar was cast as Michael. Further casting took place from January to April 2024.

After delays caused by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, principal photography took place between January and May 2024. After a clause was discovered in a legal settlement, references to the 1993 child sexual abuse allegations against Michael were removed, the third act was revised, and reshoots took place in June 2025, bringing the total production budget to $155–200 million.

Michael premiered at the Uber Eats Music Hall in Berlin on April 10, 2026, and was released on April 22 in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures and on April 24 in the United States by Lionsgate. It received generally negative reviews from critics, who praised Jaafar's performance but criticized the story as "sanitized". It has grossed $939.1 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Lionsgate film, the second-highest-grossing film of 2026, the second-highest-grossing biographical film and the highest-grossing music biopic of all time. A sequel is in development.

Michael's son, Prince, was an executive producer and kept track of the film's development. His daughter, Paris Jackson, criticized the casting of Teller through a legal filing against the executors of the Michael Jackson estate (John Branca and John McClain), as it risked a portion of the estate's assets. She accused Branca of considering himself "central to the Michael Jackson story" and trying to "enrich and aggrandize himself" through such costly casting.

Principal photography was scheduled to begin in mid-2023 and take place over 80 days in Santa Barbara, California. It was projected to spend $120 million on crew wages and vendors, according to the California Film Commission. Filming was delayed in September 2023 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. It took place between January 22 and May 30, 2024.