Michael Moonwalks Past Huge Milestone, Continues Box Office Domination

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael is showing no signs of slowing down at the global box office. The Michael Jackson biopic has crossed a massive financial milestone in just its second weekend, cementing its place among the high grossing musicals of all time.

Michael goes past $400 million at global box office

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael crossed the $400 million mark at the global box office in its second weekend, according to Box Office Mojo.

The Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson has earned a cumulative worldwide gross of $423.9 million, comprising $183.8 million domestically and $240.1 million from international markets. The film reportedly maintained its position across 3,955 theaters in North America.

The film opened to $97.2 million domestically on April 24, marking the best opening weekend in history for a music biopic. Michael also surpassed Oppenheimer for the biggest opening day ever for a biographical film with over $39 million on its first Friday. The second weekend then brought in an estimated $54 million domestically, bringing its 10-day domestic total past the $183 million mark.

As a result, Michael now ranks as only the second music biopic to pass the $400 million global milestone. The film sits behind only Bohemian Rhapsody, which eventually earned $911 million worldwide in 2018. It has additionally surpassed several titles on the high-grossing movie musicals chart, including Grease ($396.2 million), The Sound of Music ($286.2 million), and Chicago ($306.8 million) (via ScreenRant).

Meanwhile, critics gave the film a 39% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences awarded it a 97% Verified Hot score on the Popcornmeter. CinemaScore audiences gave the film an average grade of A-. The film carries a reported production budget between $155 million and $200 million.

Following this commercial performance, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson confirmed a sequel will happen. Director Fuqua stated that enough footage exists to support a second film covering Jackson’s later life.

Michael is currently playing in theaters worldwide.

Source: Comingsoon.net