By India McCarty
Michael Jackson biopic MICHAEL just broke the record for best opening weekend for a music biopic with $97 million.
“A few weeks back, estimates for MICHAEL were closer to $50 million. Going into the weekend, the studio estimated closer to $70 million. But it wildly overperformed,” AP News reported.
With $97 million domestically, MICHAEL outperformed biopic debuts like STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON ($60.2 million) and BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY ($51 million).
The international box office is also strong; MICHAEL collected $120.4 million, giving the movie a global opening of $217.4 million.
“From the beginning, all of the signals were that something like this was possible,” said Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate chairman. “We were seeing massive engagement with every conceivable audience segment that you could identify.”
AMC chairman and CEO Adam Aron released a statement about MICHAEL’s box office success, saying, “We at AMC want to congratulate producer Graham King, director Antoine Fuqua, and the talented cast and crew who made this smash hit, MICHAEL, possible. We also extend our congratulations and gratitude to the film’s domestic distributor, Lionsgate, and international distributor, Universal.”
“A clear through-line in the successful box office openings we’ve seen so far in 2026 is that filmmakers are delivering what audiences want: movies that entertain, amuse, and delight,” he continued. “The success of MICHAEL once again showcases that movies are meant to be experienced in theaters, with their giant screens and soaring sound systems. MICHAEL fully delivers on that promise. It is an important film that already has had millions and millions of moviegoers singing and dancing in celebration. And with the incredibly favorable word-of-mouth audience reactions to this story that brings Michael Jackson’s musical talent bursting across our silver screens, we expect that the appeal of MICHAEL will have ‘legs’, bringing audiences into theaters for several weeks more to come.”
Fogelson spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the planned second movie that will delve into the latter half of Jackson’s life and musical career.
“This first movie stops well short of telling the full story of Michael Jackson,” he explained. “There is a lot of amazing music in this catalog that this part of the story doesn’t get to. So we have said that there is room for another film, and I can tell you that the filmmaking team has been hard at work being ready for a second film, and when the right moment comes, we would be excited to announce that that is definitively happening.”
Movieguide® gave MICHAEL a -1 content score
Catch MICHAEL in theaters now!
Read Next: The King of Rock Versus the King of Pop: Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +1Share:
– Content: +2