‘Michael’ Surpasses $20M Globally and Continues to Defy Expectations in Fifth Weekend

In its fifth weekend of release, the Michael Jackson biopic ‘Michael’ remains a dominant force at the Russian box office, showing no signs of slowing down.

According to box office tracker Luiz Fernando, the film earned $540k on its fifth Saturday across 977 theaters, marking a modest drop of just 24.6% from the previous Saturday. This brings the cumulative total in Russia to $20 million from 2.8 million admissions, with projections indicating a four-day weekend total between $1.5 million and $2 million.

Russia’s achievement of the $20 million milestone makes it the first territory this year to reach that figure for the film. Cumulative data reveals that overseas markets now contribute nearly 62% of its global total, which stands at approximately $960 million as the biopic continues its journey toward the billion-dollar mark.

The film’s performance in Russia is particularly impressive, especially considering the typical decline of most studio tentpoles by their fifth weekend. ‘Michael’ has consistently defied the usual theatrical lifecycle.

Producer John Branca noted the unprecedented global reaction, stating that the response on social media and at the box office following the opening weekend was something the industry had never witnessed before.

The film has now surpassed ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ as the highest-grossing music biopic of all time, earning $358.6 million domestically and $553.3 million internationally. The latter figure was largely achieved through a significant offshore rights deal with Universal Pictures, which secured foreign theatrical and ancillary distribution in most global markets.

Beyond Russia, the film saw only a 10% drop in Japan from its debut weekend and continues to lead Brazil’s yearly film chart, showcasing its sustained strength across multiple international markets as it approaches the billion-dollar threshold. The trends in these territories suggest a film with remarkable word-of-mouth longevity, a rarity in the industry.

Lionsgate had to conduct $50 million in reshoots after the Jackson estate raised concerns about a plot point in the original screenplay involving one of Jackson’s accusers. This increased the production cost and heightened the stakes for the film’s global performance to justify the investment. The box office results have decisively answered that question.

The film features Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the lead role, directed by Antoine Fuqua with a screenplay by John Logan. Colman Domingo portrays Joseph Jackson, while Miles Teller plays Jackson’s attorney John Branca. As ‘Michael’ continues to thrive in Russia during its fifth weekend and approaches a historic milestone, its global journey is shaping up to be one of the most extraordinary theatrical runs in recent cinema history.

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