🎬 Michael Jackson reclaims the box office crown

With this latest performance, the Graham King-produced feature became only the second release of 2026 to cross the $700 million milestone globally, following the animated smash hit The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. To date, Michael has grossed $242.8 million domestically and $421.1 million internationally, bringing its global cumulative total to $703.9 million. Just a week prior, the biopic officially surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody to become the highest-grossing musical biographical drama in cinematic history.

Mortal Kombat II stumbles

Michael’s triumph was largely fueled by the sharp decline of the blockbuster Mortal Kombat II. The cult video game adaptation failed to maintain its hold on general audiences, struggling to expand its appeal beyond the core geek community. In its sophomore frame, the film plummeted 67%, scraping together a modest $13.4 million and dropping to fourth place, which brings its 10-day domestic total to $62.2 million.

As interest in the fighting-game sequel waned, theaters began reallocating premium IMAX screens to other projects. Beyond Michael, the main beneficiary of this shift was a special double-feature re-release celebrating the 40th anniversary of Tom Cruise’s Top Gun franchise, which paired the original film with the mega-hit Top Gun: Maverick. This retrospective event brought in $12 million globally, with IMAX locations contributing $3 million of that total.

Weekend breakdown

Top 5 global and domestic box office leaders:

• Michael – $26.3 million ($703.9 million cumulative)
• The Devil Wears Prada 2 – $18 million ($175.9 million domestic / $370.5 million global)
• Obsession – $16.1 million (New Release)
• Mortal Kombat II – $13.4 million ($62.2 million domestic cumulative)
• The Sheep Detectives – $9 million (Over $29 million domestic cumulative)

David Frankel’s sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 held onto the number two spot, maintaining its status as the highest-grossing female-led film since Barbie. The picture pocketed another $18 million, an impressive feat considering it lacked an IMAX release. However, Disney and other competitors’ dominance in the premium format segment is drawing to a close: ahead of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, the season’s biggest blockbuster—Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu—is set to debut and lock down virtually every premium screen.

Meanwhile, the true sensation of the weekend was the micro-budget horror film Obsession from Focus Features and Blumhouse. 26-year-old debut director Curry Barker—who previously gained internet fame with his viral $800 YouTube thriller Milk & Serial—defied all tracking estimates to storm into third place with $16.1 million. The film, which follows a young man who purchases a mystical willow tree to make his friend fall in love with him, earned an incredible 94% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and audiences alike.

Rounding out the top five was the Hugh Jackman-led family detective comedy The Sheep Detectives ($9 million), executive produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind the hit Project Hail Mary.

Conversely, it was a rough frame for distributor Black Bear, as Guy Ritchie’s new Henry Cavill-led actioner In the Grey crashed upon arrival, lands in 9th place with a dismal $3 million.