‘Michael’ Becomes the Highest-Grossing Music Biopic in Box Office History, Surpassing Bohemian Rhapsody

Antoine Fuqua’s Michael has made history. The Lionsgate film, which chronicles the life of Michael Jackson with the late King of Pop’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, has surpassed $911.9 million at the global box office, officially making it the highest-grossing music biopic ever released. In doing so, it knocked Bohemian Rhapsody, the 2018 Queen film starring Rami Malek, off a throne it held for nearly eight years.

The achievement is staggering by any measure. Michael delivered the biggest global opening weekend in the history of the music biopic genre, broke box office records in 65 international markets, and is still adding to its total as it continues its theatrical run. For Lionsgate, it represents one of the studio’s most successful releases in its history.

The record that Fuqua’s film toppled was considered by many in the industry to be one of the more durable benchmarks in the genre. Bohemian Rhapsody benefited from enormous global enthusiasm for Queen’s catalog, Freddie Mercury’s enduring cultural legacy, and significant awards season momentum that kept it in theaters longer than expected. Crossing that threshold required a film with massive cross-generational appeal and the kind of subject matter that resonates with audiences around the world, and Michael Jackson certainly qualifies.

The road to the screen was a long and complicated one. The project spent years in development, navigating the complexities of Jackson’s legacy, the ongoing legal disputes tied to his estate, and debates about how to handle the more controversial chapters of his life in a narrative feature. Fuqua, whose career spans music videos, crime thrillers, and action blockbusters, was ultimately tapped to bring the story together. The choice of Jaafar Jackson to portray his own uncle added a deeply personal dimension to the production that resonated strongly with audiences.

The film’s success also reflects something broader: the enduring, almost unmatched global footprint of Michael Jackson’s music and mythology. More than 15 years after his death, his catalog continues to generate extraordinary revenue, his estate remains one of the most valuable in entertainment, and his influence on pop culture remains visible in virtually every corner of the music industry. Michael turning into a box office phenomenon is, in many ways, exactly what you would expect from a film bearing his name.