‘Michael’ box – Jaafar Jackson’s “Michael” has passed “Bohemian Rhapsody” to become the highest-grossing musical biopic ever, reaching $932.2 million worldwide and continuing to climb even as the film faced controversy and mixed critical reviews.
When “Michael” landed in theaters, the debate about what it would and wouldn’t cover was already loud. Weeks later, the box office argument has turned into something harder to ignore: the movie is now the top-grossing musical biopic of all time.
The film. starring Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role. has reached a global take of $932.2 million and counting as of June 14. with Lionsgate confirming the record. That total has now surpassed the previous benchmark set by 2018’s “Bohemian Rhapsody. ” which earned $911 million worldwide and starred Rami Malek as Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
In North America, “Michael” added $4.1 million this weekend. In Japan, it opened on June 12 and posted an opening of $6.7 million. The momentum comes with an additional domestic milestone: the movie debuted to $97 million at the domestic box office in April. setting a new record for the biggest opening weekend for a musical biopic of all time. The prior record for that opening weekend was held by “Straight Outta Compton,” which opened with $60 million domestically.
The record matters because “Michael” arrived with controversy that could have easily stalled public interest. Leading up to its release, the film faced criticism for sidestepping the child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson. Instead, it focused on an earlier part of his career and on his relationship with his father. The story ends in 1988—five years before the first abuse allegation against Jackson came to light.
Behind the scenes, more instability was reported. Variety and Puck reported that the film was originally set to dramatize Jackson being accused of abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler in 1993. They also reported that significant reshoots were needed after it was discovered that a legal agreement had been overlooked that prevented Chandler from being depicted in a movie.
Still, reviews didn’t line up with the numbers. Critics largely offered negative assessments. with many slamming the film as overly sanitized. while Jaafar Jackson’s performance was widely praised. Audiences, however, moved in the opposite direction. With positive word of mouth in subsequent weeks, the film kept performing strongly.
On the global stage, “Michael” is also showing where it fits among the year’s bigger bets. It is the second highest-grossing movie of 2026 so far. behind only “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. ” and ahead of other recent releases including “Project Hail Mary” and “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” It has also grossed significantly more than the latest “Star Wars” film. “The Mandalorian and Grogu.”.
The next question now isn’t whether “Michael” can keep moving—it’s whether it can go further. Lionsgate has the $1 billion mark in sight as a possibility, and the studio has confirmed it is making progress on a sequel.
That follow-up is expected to depict more events from Jackson’s life. but Lionsgate hasn’t specified what will be covered or how the abuse allegations would be handled. In May. Lionsgate Motion Picture chair Adam Fogelson told analysts that much of the biggest and most popular parts of Jackson’s music catalog were not touched upon in the first film. and could therefore be included in the second. Deadline reported Fogelson said. “We can go forwards and backwards in telling this story.” He added. “There are so many other events that happened. even in the time frame of the original movie. that weren’t touched upon.”.
For Jaafar Jackson, the story is still unfinished. In a previous conversation, he confirmed the singer’s story is “not finished being told,” adding, “It’s in the early process of figuring that out. I can’t wait to see what comes next.”
As the box office record shifts—one biopic benchmark after another—the controversy around what audiences saw on screen hasn’t gone away. But for Lionsgate, critics’ takes are no longer the loudest measure of impact. The ticket receipts are.
Michael box office record Bohemian Rhapsody musical biopic Jaafar Jackson Lionsgate Adam Fogelson sequel Jordan Chandler
$932 mil already?? I didn’t even know people went to see musicals like that anymore.
Wait so it “skipped” the abuse allegations but people still flocked to it? That’s crazy to me. Also critics being mixed doesn’t matter if it keeps breaking records.
I think it passed Bohemian Rhapsody because the actor is literally his nephew so everyone’s like “authentic” or whatever. But then they say it ends in 1988 which is like… wasn’t that the allegations already? I’m confused. Either way, Japan number seems small compared to the hype.
This is wild, like Straight Outta Compton only did $60m opening and now Michael’s doing $97m, so I guess audiences just want the music and not the heavy stuff. Still, if they avoided the allegations, that’s gonna follow them forever. Also Lionsgate “confirmed the record” so maybe it’s just marketing math, not actual vibes.