Michael Jackson Biopic Hits $500M at Box Office

Three weeks in, and Michael is still making history. The Antoine Fuqua-directed biopic about Michael Jackson is on pace to cross the $500 million mark at the worldwide box office this weekend — a milestone that looked inevitable the moment it posted a staggering $217 million global debut on opening weekend (April 24–26), then followed that up with another $135 million in its second frame.

Through Wednesday, the film has earned $195.2 million domestically and $246 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $441.2 million. Deadline projects a third-weekend haul of around $30 million in North America and $50 million internationally — good for roughly $80 million globally. Factor in Thursday night ticket sales, and the film could land anywhere from a conservative $520 million to as high as $525–$530 million by Sunday night. Even if the domestic number comes in at the lower end of Box Office Pro’s $25–$30 million range, it’s still more than enough to clear the half-billion threshold.

The film stars Jaafar Jackson — son of Jermaine Jackson and the late King of Pop’s own nephew — in what has become one of the more talked-about casting choices in recent memory. The biopic traces Michael Jackson’s life from age 10, when he was performing alongside his brothers in The Jackson Five, through the Bad album tour in 1988. Critics have had their reservations, but audiences clearly haven’t.

The Music Is Having Its Own Moment

The box office run isn’t happening in a vacuum. Michael Jackson is currently dominating both the iTunes singles and album charts, with roughly a dozen entries across each. He’s on track to sell around 125,000 units this week when you factor in streaming — at least 45,000 of those coming from his Number Ones greatest hits compilation alone. The movie, whatever its controversies, is functioning as a full-scale cultural revival of Jackson’s catalog.

It’s also proving to be a serious financial win for the Jackson Estate and his children. Whether it leads anywhere else — a sequel, a longer career for Jaafar — is a genuinely open question. Showbiz411 noted pointedly that a part two seems unlikely, since it would risk unraveling everything the first film has built. As for Jaafar himself, the question of what comes next for him as an actor is one Hollywood will be watching closely.

What’s Fighting for the Weekend Crown

Michael does face some real competition this weekend. Mortal Kombat II — the sequel to the 2021 video game adaptation — opens Friday, and Deadline projects it could pull as much as $50 million domestically, with Box Office Pro putting the range at $40–$45 million. Meanwhile, The Devil Wears Prada 2, which knocked Michael off the domestic top spot last weekend, is heading into its second frame. Deadline has it finishing in the low $40 millions stateside, but globally it’s expected to remain a force — projections put its international take at $65–$75 million, which would give the Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway sequel a second-weekend worldwide total somewhere between $107 million and $117 million.

Two more newcomers round out the weekend: Hugh Jackman’s family comedy The Sheep Detectives, projected to earn $12 million-plus domestically, and Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard & Soft the Tour Live in 3D — co-directed by Eilish and James Cameron — which Deadline pegs at $6–$9 million in its opening frame.

But this weekend belongs to Michael. Half a billion dollars. For a biopic. About a man who’s been gone since 2009 — and whose music is currently all over the charts like he never left.