Michael has officially become the highest-grossing biopic ever made.
Per Rolling Stone, it has now surpassed Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, which previously held the record with US$965 million.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson as his superstar uncle, the film opened to US$217 million globally across its first weekend in April. It has since earned US$370 million in the US alone – making it Lionsgate’s third highest-grossing domestic release of all time, behind The Hunger Games (US$408 million, 2012) and its sequel Catching Fire (2013).
The film – which traces Jackson’s early years with the Jackson 5 through his 1988 Bad world tour – has been a box office phenomenon despite landing largely negative reviews. It also drew significant criticism for failing to address the child sexual abuse allegations made against Jackson by accuser Jordan Chandler. Court proceedings legally barred the filmmakers from depicting those allegations, ultimately forcing a full reshoot of the third act and pushing the release back by nearly a year.
The Jackson estate-approved production is now widely expected to cross US$1 billion at the global box office.
Beyond the cinema, Michael has sent Jackson’s back catalogue into a tailspin of renewed interest. During its opening week (April 24th-30th), his solo work clocked 137.5 million official on-demand streams in the US – a career-best, up 146% from his previous high.
“Thriller” climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard 200, while music recorded with the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons also surged, generating 10.1 million streams that same week, up 135% from the week prior.
