‘Michael’ Becomes First Music Biopic to Surpass $1 Billion at Box Office

Lionsgate has spent the last few years searching for a significant theatrical hit, and it seems the studio has finally found one. Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Michael’ has officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office, making it not only the highest-grossing music biopic ever produced but also the first Lionsgate film to achieve this milestone.

As reported by The New York Times, the film reached this historic benchmark over the weekend, marking one of Lionsgate’s most significant victories. The movie had already set records by becoming the highest-grossing music biopic, surpassing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, but crossing the $1 billion threshold elevates its success to a new level.

The path to this achievement was fraught with challenges. Several major Hollywood studios reportedly opted not to move forward with the project due to concerns that a Michael Jackson biopic carried too much risk. Issues surrounding the singer’s legacy and the controversies tied to his life made many studios hesitant to invest in such an expensive production. Nevertheless, Lionsgate decided to proceed, with Universal and Kino Films joining as international distribution partners.

That decision has now yielded remarkable results. ‘Michael’ has emerged as one of the biggest films of 2026 and is among the few movies released this year to cross the billion-dollar mark globally. This success comes after a challenging period for Lionsgate, which had struggled to deliver major box office hits in recent years.

In 2024, Lionsgate released 17 films but only generated $251 million at the domestic box office, representing an 85 percent decline from the studio’s peak year in 2012, when franchises like ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Madea’, and ‘The Expendables’ amassed over $1.7 billion domestically. As these struggles persisted, many industry analysts speculated that Lionsgate’s best option might be to sell the company.

Instead, ‘Michael’ has transformed that narrative. The New York Times also noted another unexpected success for the studio, ‘The Housemaid’, which reportedly earned over $400 million worldwide from a production budget of around $35 million. With both ‘Michael’ and ‘The Housemaid’ becoming significant theatrical hits, Lionsgate has already confirmed sequels for both projects.

Sean Diffley, who leads media and entertainment research at Morgan Stanley, believes the studio has demonstrated its ability to compete independently.

“They’ve proven they can operate on a stand-alone basis in an effective manner — that they can still create big hits and find fresh I.P. in a tricky market.” He also acknowledged that larger studios still have advantages, adding: “At the same time, there’s certainly a view in the market that scale matters.”

The studio is already gearing up for its next wave of releases, including a new ‘Hunger Games’ film, additional ‘John Wick’ movies, a ‘Rambo’ prequel, ‘Now You See Me 4’, and Mel Gibson’s ‘The Resurrection of the Christ’. Lionsgate is also developing new versions of ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and ‘Saw’.

For now, the spotlight is firmly on ‘Michael’. The film has not only rewritten the record books for music biopics but has also given Lionsgate its most significant box office success ever. What once appeared to be a risky gamble has turned into a billion-dollar triumph, showcasing that the studio’s greatest comeback story came from betting on the King of Pop.

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