Michael Jackson's eponymous biopic had a record-breaking box office debut this weekend. The late King of Pop, who died in 2009 at age 50, is portrayed by 29-year-old nephew Jaafar Jackson in the Antoine Fuqua-directed film.
The movie raked in $97 million domestically and $120.4 million internationally, for a global total of $217.4 million, according to Sunday estimates from The Hollywood Reporter (THR). Michael had the biggest domestic opening for a biopic, landing $30 million over its projections as it surpassed Oppenheimer's $80 million in 2023. It also sailed past Bohemian Rhapsody, becoming the best worldwide opening for a music biopic.
The success of the film comes despite backlash over the producers' decision to leave out the allegations of child sexual abuse against the singer, which plagued him late in his career.
According to THR, Michael is Lionsgate's best debut since the pandemic and the company's sixth-biggest debut after four Hunger Games installments and the last Twilight film. It also soared past the opening of Ryan Gosling-led Project Hail Mary to become the second-biggest opening of the year, as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie remains in first place.
Overseas, Michael's debut raked in $120.4 million from 84 markets. It became the best opening for a music biopic in 63 countries, including the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, Australia, Spain, Netherlands, and South Asia. The film is expected to be just as monumental when it opens in Japan in June.
The total cost to make the movie was $200 million. Producer Graham King and Lionsgate forced major production delays when they decided to scrap any mention of the pop star's abuse allegations. The biopic has been savaged by critics, earning a dismal 35 percent 'rotten' score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
Last year, Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson, 28, distanced herself from the project. However, her brothers Blanket, 24, and Prince, 29, showed their support as they attended its Berlin premiere earlier this month. Paris took to Instagram to quash actor Colman Domingo's claim that she is 'very much in support of our film.' The actor, 56, plays her great grandfather Joe Jackson in the movie. He told People in late August that he'd 'chatted briefly' with Paris and her brother Prince at the amfAR Venezia Gala. 'They're very much in support of our film,' Colman gushed. 'I'm excited to be here at amfAR tonight with Paris. It feels like that's a nice way for us to be together.'
Via Instagram Stories, however, Paris contradicted his statement and shared her side of things. '[Colman Domingo], don't be telling people I was "helpful" on the set of a movie I had 0% involvement in lol that is so weird,' she wrote to her millions of followers. She added in a follow-up post, 'I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave my notes about what was dishonest / didn't sit right with me, and when they didn't address it, I moved on with my life.'
