Michael, the biopic dedicated to Michael Jackson and directed by Antoine Fuqua, has just achieved a result that just a few months ago seemed very difficult, almost impossible: surpass Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan and become the highest-grossing biopic of all time worldwide. A symbolic and significant overtaking, because Nolan’s film was not only a box office hit but also one of the most acclaimed titles in recent years. And now the question is inevitable: Will Michael manage to reach a billion? For the first time, it might not be impossible.
Michael beats Oppenheimer: the new record of the biopic
According to data reported by Box Office Mojo, Michael is expected to close the weekend with a global total of approximately $977.4 million. Enough to leave behind the 975.8 million collected by Oppenheimer during its run in theaters in 2023. The difference is minimal, of course, but enough to set a new record for the genre.
One of the most relevant aspects concerns the way the film achieved this result. In the United States, the biopic about Michael Jackson grossed $370.2 million, significantly surpassing the $330.1 million of Nolan’s film in the domestic market. Abroad, however, Oppenheimer remains stronger: 645.7 million against Michael’s 607.2 million. Two different paths, therefore, but with a final result that rewards the Lionsgate title.
After all, Antoine Fuqua’s film had already made its ambitions clear from the start. With 97.2 million dollars in the first American weekend, Michael had indeed signed the best opening ever for a musical biopic. Then another significant overtaking occurred, that of Bohemian Rhapsody, which was stuck at around 911 million worldwide. From that moment on, the film was no longer just a great success but became the new commercial benchmark for the entire genre of musical biopics.
The film about Michael Jackson aims for a billion.
The billion-dollar milestone, at this point, is very close. There are just over twenty million dollars to go and the film still has a few bullets to fire, especially thanks to the international market. The recent release in Japan, where Michael has already collected 16.9 million dollars, could be decisive in pushing the total beyond the most coveted symbolic milestone in Hollywood.
It would be a historic record: no biopic has ever reached a billion dollars at the global box office (not considering inflation). A result that would make the film’s trajectory even more remarkable, especially considering the far from unanimous reception by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, Michael stopped at 38% positive reviews, but the audience evidently responded very differently.
Then there’s the industrial aspect. The budget would have reached up to 200 million dollars, an enormous amount for a biopic, but Lionsgate would have reduced the risk through international pre-sales. In this scenario, the break-even point would have been well below 500 million: Michael has almost quintupled it. The verdict of the public, in short, has already arrived. Now it remains to be seen whether the biopic about Michael Jackson will manage to take the final step and become the first film of its kind to officially enter the billion-dollar club.
