Michael opens to $39.5M
- Lionsgate’s Michael, Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson, opened to $39.5 million domestically on Friday from 3,955 theaters and immediately took the No. 1 spot at the North American box office. - Early weekend estimates put Michael between $95 million and $100 million in North America, with Deadline reporting a $206.4 million worldwide start after $111.4 million from 82 overseas territories. - The opening lands despite weak critic reviews and strong audience scores, widening the split between reviewers and ticket buyers. (deadline.com)
Lionsgate’s Michael opened to $39.5 million on Friday in North America and is tracking for a $95 million to $100 million domestic debut. (variety.com) (deadline.com/2026/04/box-office-michael-1236870542/) The film played in 3,955 theaters and finished Friday at No. 1, ahead of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Project Hail Mary. Antoine Fuqua directed the biopic, and Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson plays the singer. (variety.com) Deadline reported the film at $206.4 million worldwide through Saturday morning, including $111.4 million from 82 overseas territories. Universal is handling the international rollout outside Lionsgate’s domestic release. (deadline.com 1) (deadline.com 2) Those numbers put Michael ahead of earlier music-biopic openings cited by the trades, including Bohemian Rhapsody at $51 million and Straight Outta Compton at $60.2 million. Deadline also called it Lionsgate’s biggest post-COVID opening weekend. (variety.com) (deadline.com) The box-office story is landing alongside a sharp split in reception. Rotten Tomatoes described the film as critic-negative while surfacing a far warmer audience response, and Deadline reported an A- CinemaScore with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. (rottentomatoes.com) (deadline.com) That divide matters because Michael arrived with unusual baggage for a studio tentpole. Variety reported a $155 million production budget and said producers had to rework the third act after discovering a settlement clause tied to a 1993 accuser barred depiction or mention of that person. (variety.com) Variety said the revised film centers more heavily on Michael Jackson’s relationship with his father, Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo. The cast also includes Nia Long as Katherine Jackson. (variety.com) Rotten Tomatoes’ synopsis says the movie traces Jackson from his Jackson Five breakthrough into his early solo superstardom and presents “where his story begins,” which matches reports that the film stops well short of covering his full life. (rottentomatoes.com) For Lionsgate, the immediate result is simple: a costly, legally reworked biopic drew blockbuster-level turnout on opening weekend. The next test is whether that turnout holds after the first rush of fans. (variety.com) (deadline.com)
