Antoine Fuqua’s Michael has officially made box office history, overtaking Bohemian Rhapsody to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever released.
According to Deadline, the Michael Jackson film has now earned $911.9 million worldwide, narrowly surpassing Bohemian Rhapsody’s lifetime total of $910.9 million. The milestone coincides with the film’s release in Japan, its final major international market, through a Lionsgate-Kino partnership, meaning its box office total is expected to keep climbing.
The film crossed the $900 million mark on June 9, at which point it was still trailing Bohemian Rhapsody by roughly $11 million. Before breaking the record, Michael had already surpassed 2022’s Elvis to become one of the top-performing music biopics in history.
Its impressive global total includes $358.6 million domestically and $553.3 million from international markets. Since debuting in April, the film has been a box office powerhouse, opening to a record-setting $97.2 million during its first weekend.
Leading the cast is Jaafar Jackson, son of Jermaine Jackson, who portrays the adult Michael Jackson in his acting debut. Juliano Krue Valdi stars as the younger version of the music icon, also marking his first acting role. The film’s supporting cast features Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Miles Teller as John Branca, Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe, and Mike Myers as CBS Records executive Walter Yetnikoff.
Given the film’s enormous success—and the fact that its story concludes in 1988—it comes as little surprise that a sequel is already in development. During a Lionsgate earnings call in May, motion picture chairman Adam Fogelson confirmed that work on a follow-up film is moving forward.
“We are really excited about the progress we’re making with respect to a second Michael film,” Fogelson said. “All the conversations that we’ve been having with all of the appropriate parties continue to go exceptionally well.”
He also noted that there is still plenty of Michael Jackson’s story left to tell, including some of the biggest moments of his career and many of his most beloved songs that were not covered in the first film.
