While fans eagerly await news about the sequel Michael 2, the first installment of the biopic chronicling Michael Jackson’s life and career is poised to reach a major milestone at the box office, forever etching its place in Lionsgate’s history. In fact, the Michael Jackson biopic is poised to become Lionsgate’s highest-grossing film of all time: now in its seventh weekend of release, Michael has grossed $346.6 million in the United States and $508 million overseas, for a global total of $857 million.
This means that over the course of this weekend, Michael will surpass The Hunger Games and Twilight, Lionsgate’s two highest-grossing films of all time, dethroning both to become the production company’s new box office king: The Hunger Games: The 2013 film Catching Fire grossed $865 million worldwide, while the 2012 film Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 grossed $868.5 million ($829.7 million in its initial theatrical run).
Incidentally, Michael hasn’t been released in Japan yet: in that country, where Michael Jackson has a massive following, Antoine Fuqua’s film will debut on June 12. This is a promising milestone, given that Michael Jackson is deeply loved in Japan: for example, the 2009 documentary This Is It grossed a whopping $57 million in Japan, accounting for 21% of the film’s global box office of over $267 million; for this reason, analysts expect Japan to push Michael past $900 million in worldwide box office receipts.
At that point, Michael could even surpass Bohemian Rhapsody, which closed with $911 million worldwide, to become the highest-grossing music biopic of all time.
The film, starring Jaafar Jackson, Colman Domingo, Miles Teller, and Nia Long, has already surpassed the total box office of Bohemian Rhapsody in several markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom (over $65 million), France (over $51 million), Germany (over $32 million), Mexico (over $31 million), Brazil (over $30 million), Australia (over $29 million), Spain (over $25 million), Italy (over $28 million), and the Netherlands (over $13 million), to name just a few.
At the domestic box office, Michael surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing musical biopic in the United States by its 16th day in theaters. The film held up very well at the box office over the weekend, posting a 44% drop in its second weekend, 30% in its third, 31% in its fourth, 21% in its fifth, and 43% in its sixth.
Source: BOM
