The King of Pop has officially claimed another crown. The Michael Jackson biopic Michael has surpassed $980 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing biopic of all time. The film dethroned Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which held the previous record with $975 million globally.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s real-life nephew in his acting debut, the film has been a theatrical powerhouse since its April release. With $607.2 million from international markets and $370.2 million domestically, Michael continues to draw audiences worldwide.
The Michael biopic’s record-breaking run didn’t stop at dethroning Nolan’s historical drama. It had already surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody ($910.9 million) to become the highest-grossing music biopic in history. Now, by crossing the $980 million threshold, it has claimed the overall biopic crown.
The film’s success is even more remarkable given its reported $200 million production budget. It opened to $97 million domestically and $217 million globally, shattering the opening record for music biopics.
Michael is now Lionsgate’s highest-grossing theatrical release ever, surpassing The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($865 million) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 ($868.5 million). The film’s performance in 40 international markets has exceeded Bohemian Rhapsody‘s lifetime gross, including Brazil, France, and Mexico.
A sequel is already in development at Lionsgate. With the film’s recent release in Japan, one of Jackson’s strongest markets, the biopic could potentially push past $1 billion worldwide.
