EXCLUSIVE: It’s finally happened, and as Michael and Janet Jackson would have sang, ‘it makes ya wanna scream’.
The Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody has been caught in a landslide as the King of Pop’s biopic, Michael, is now the highest grossing musical biopic ever with $911.9M worldwide.
It’s a feat that Lionsgate and Universal have pulled off as the Jaafar Jackson starring, Antoine Fuqua directed Michael Jackson movie arrives in Japan today. That territory alone could make Michael the second title to cross $1 billion at the 2026 global B.O. after Universal’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
In addition, as we always pointed out all along: Graham King beats his own all-time box office record, the producer also behind the 4x Oscar winning Bohemian Rhapsody.
Lionsgate is partnering with Kino for the Japan release. The Santa Monica, CA based studio also has theatrical in Russia where the pic has collected $10M.
The studio faced great challenges in the making of the movie, forced to do $50M in reshoots after the Jackson estate overlooked a key plot point in the screenplay about one of his accusers, who was never suppose to be dramatized in the John Logan written movie. It’s a gamble and a battle that has truly paid off for the motion picture studio division led by Chair Adam Fogelson. Bravo.
Michael currently counts $358.6M at the domestic B.O. with $553.3M from international (Universal generated $540.5M of that after taking foreign theatrical and ancillary rights). Bohemian Rhapsody grossed $216.6M stateside and $694.3M abroad.
Below is a list of all the box office records broken by Michael:
Lionsgate’s highest grossing theatrical release ever at the worldwide box office
Largest global opening weekend ever for a musical biopic
2nd highest grossing film of 2026 worldwide (only behind Universal, Illumination and Nintendo’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie)
2nd highest grossing biopic worldwide, only behind Universal’s Oppenheimer
65 of international markets achieved the highest grossing opening ever for a musical biopic
40 international markets surpassed the lifetime of Bohemian Rhapsody, including Brazil, France, and Mexico
Highest grossing Universal film of all time in Brazil
Most successful biopic ever in France, surpassing the legendary local film La Môme (La Vie En Rose)
Largest domestic opening weekend ever for a musical biopic
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