Michael has officially achieved platinum status at the Box Office. The contentious Michael Jackson biopic has faced significant backlash for failing to address the allegations of abuse against the King of Pop. Nevertheless, this criticism has not hindered it’s remarkable success at the Box Office. The 2026 film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and featuring Jaafar Jackson, the King of Pop’s real-life nephew, has recently made history by becoming the highest-grossing music biopic ever, surpassing Bohemian Rhapsody’s $911 million. It has also claimed the title of the highest-grossing biopic overall, outpacing Oppenheimer’s $975.8 million.
Lionsgate has revealed that, as of Friday morning, Michael concluded it’s 13 Weeks in theaters with a total global earnings of $1.01 billion, officially surpassing the billion-dollar mark. This achievement makes it the first biopic to reach such heights. In addition, it stands as the 62nd film in history to have grossed over $1 billion (not adjusted for inflation).
In 2026, Michael has successfully surpassed this significant milestone, despite the film being available on video on demand since June 9 and preparing for it’s physical media release on Tuesday, July 14. This achievement is partly attributed to the movie’s recent launch in Japan, a key market that has contributed an additional $35.9 million to it’s international earnings thus far.
Notably, this movie marks a significant milestone for Lionsgate, being the first to reach the $1 billion mark. The company, known for it’s production prowess, distributed the film in the U.S. while partnering with Universal Pictures International and Kino Films for global distribution.
This remarkable success outshines the previous record of $865 million set by The Hunger Games – Catching Fire back in 2013. With Antoine Fuqua’s Michael nearing the end of it’s international theatrical journey, it has firmly positioned itself as one of the most successful Box Office biopic films of the century.
This is an extraordinary feat, especially given that it and Bohemian Rhapsody (the 2018 biopic about Freddie Mercury and Queen, also produced by Graham King) are the only music biopics to exceed $300 million globally, not to mention approaching the $1 billion milestone.
It is yet to be determined whether any other music biopics can reach the billion-dollar mark achieved by Michael Jackson. There are only a handful of globally recognized music icons with the same level of name recognition as Michael, and one of those rare groups is The Beatles, who have a biopic in development.
However, this upcoming Beatles biopic is set to be a four-film series, with each film focusing on a different member, all premiering on the same weekend. While it is possible that these films could collectively earn $1 billion, this strategy may hinder any single film from achieving that milestone.