‘Michael’ Sets Historic Opening Day Numbers in Japan

The biopic ‘Michael’ about Michael Jackson has made a significant impact in Japan, with its opening-day figures indicating a potentially historic weekend at the Japanese box office.

Known for having a devoted fanbase, Japan is a crucial market for the film, which is now on track to push towards a billion-dollar global total.

On its opening Friday, the film grossed an estimated $2.3 million, setting a record for biopics in Japan and marking the second-largest opening day of the year for any Hollywood film in the country, only behind ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’. According to box office analyst Luiz Fernando on X, Saturday’s figures showed an additional estimated $2.5 million, bringing the two-day total to approximately $5 million, already surpassing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’s’ entire three-day opening weekend in the territory before Sunday even began.

The audience response has been impressive, with the film receiving a stellar 4.2-star score from Japanese viewers, matching the reception that ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ received during its run in Japan. This parallel is particularly significant, as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ went on to earn an astounding $114 million in Japan alone.

Distributor Kino Films executed a promotional campaign dubbed the MICHAEL Tokyo Takeover ahead of the film’s debut, featuring massive outdoor displays at TOHO Cinemas Ikebukuro and a complete aesthetic overhaul of a diner inside the Grand Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro complex.

Japan plays a vital role in the film’s quest for a billion-dollar total. When Michael Jackson’s concert documentary ‘This Is It’ was released in 2011, Japan contributed $57 million to its total $196 million foreign gross. Experts are now predicting a three-day opening weekend in Japan between $6.5 million and $8 million, which would comfortably exceed both ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’s’ $4.3 million opening and ‘This Is It’s’ $5.7 million debut.

The film has already grossed $911.9 million globally, officially surpassing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, and is now aiming for a finish that no biopic has ever achieved. This commercial success has been fueled by audience enthusiasm, with the film holding a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A-minus CinemaScore, despite critics giving it a mere 39%.

With Japan being the last major territory to open, trade analysts believe its performance could be crucial in determining whether ‘Michael’ becomes the second film to surpass $1 billion globally in 2026, following ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’.

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