🏆 Michael Becomes the Highest-Grossing Musical Biopic of All Time

The picture has surpassed the musical biopic genre’s previous leader, Bohemian Rhapsody, the feature film about Freddie Mercury. Symbolically, producer Graham King has broken his own record, as he was the driving force behind the creation of both Oscar-winning hits.

The project from Lionsgate and Universal Pictures is well-positioned to become the second film of 2026 to cross the $1 billion milestone, following the animated hit The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. This trajectory will be further fueled by the film’s official launch in Japan. The movie’s theatrical run also continues successfully in other international markets, including Russia, where the Antoine Fuqua-directed feature has already reached the $10 million mark. Currently, the biopic starring Jaafar Jackson has accumulated $358.6 million domestically and $553.3 million internationally.

The road to triumph was fraught with immense challenges for the project’s creative team. The studio was forced to invest an additional $50 million into extensive reshoots after the musician’s estate discovered a critical flaw in John Logan’s screenplay concerning one of the singer’s accusers, whose depiction was not originally intended for the screen. Nevertheless, this high-stakes gamble paid off entirely.

To date, Michael holds more than a dozen box office records, including the most successful release in Lionsgate history, the highest-grossing biopic in US box office history, and the biggest opening weekend for the genre across 65 international markets.