‘Michael’ Breaks Box Office Records as Jaafar Jackson Honors His Uncle
Biopics often struggle to achieve blockbuster status, but ‘Michael‘ has defied expectations over the past three months. Featuring Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, as the King of Pop, the film premiered in theaters on April 24, overcoming harsh reviews and modest pre-release forecasts to rake in $97.2 million from 3,955 North American theaters during its opening weekend.
This impressive start hinted at greater success, and the film’s momentum continued to build. With worldwide ticket sales, ‘Michael’ grossed over $217 million globally in its first three days, marking a record-breaking debut for the biopic genre. Instead of fading like many music biopics after the initial buzz, the film kept surpassing milestone after milestone.
As reported by industry account chart radar on X, ‘Michael’ has now become the fastest biopic in history to cross $1 billion at the global box office, a claim supported by recent tracking of the film’s performance. According to Box Office Mojo, the film had amassed $991.4 million worldwide as of July 6, 2026, with $371.2 million from domestic markets and $620.1 million from international sales.
The film’s international success was bolstered by its June 12 release in Japan through Kino Films, which alone contributed $24.4 million to the total, highlighting the enduring global fanbase of Jackson nearly seventeen years after his passing.
Reaching the billion-dollar milestone caps off a remarkable run that has already rewritten biopic history. On June 14, ‘Michael’ surpassed ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever, and on June 28, it overtook ‘Oppenheimer’ to claim the title of the highest-grossing biographical film of all time. Additionally, it has become Lionsgate’s highest-grossing release, surpassing ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’, and currently ranks as the second highest-grossing film of 2026, only behind ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’.
The chart radar post also highlights Michael Jackson extending his record as the most awarded legacy artist in Guinness World Records history, a fitting companion to the film’s success. Jackson holds 39 Guinness World Records, including the title of Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, a distinction that the biopic’s success is now reintroducing to a new generation of fans discovering his music for the first time.
This renewed interest has directly impacted music streaming as well. Jackson’s solo work achieved a career-best 137.5 million official on-demand streams during the film’s opening week, a 146 percent increase from his previous high, according to Billboard. Meanwhile, his Jackson 5 and Jacksons material generated 10.1 million streams that same week, up 135 percent from the prior week.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, ‘Michael’ faced a challenging path to release, including costly reshoots due to a legal dispute with the Jackson estate. However, none of these hurdles seem to have deterred audiences. With the film’s conclusion hinting at a continuation of Jackson’s story and a sequel already in the works, the King of Pop’s box office reign appears poised to continue. Do you believe ‘Michael’ deserves its place at the top of the biopic record books, or does its billion-dollar success leave you eager for a sequel?