‘Michael’ Breaks Box Office Records in First Weekend

The Michael Jackson biopic, which has been faced with both controversy and some seriously mixed reviews, took in more than $217 million globally.

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in 'Michael'. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate.

Preview:

‘Michael’ has set records for biopic movies on its first weekend.
It topped the domestic box office with $97 million.
Elsewhere, new releases struggled.

It may have arrived laden with controversies about re-shoots and didn’t exactly strike a chord with critics, but audiences have certainly embraced ‘Michael’, the biopic of troubled music superstar Michael Jackson.The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, has kicked off its run at the box office as an instant success, earning $97 million for first place.

The movie’s ticket sales rank as the best start of all time for a biopic, smashing the record set by 2015’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ ($60 million). And they tower above 2018’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, which opened to $51 million. Can it match the latter’s huge run, though? That’s a bigger question. Still, with $217 million globally in one weekend, it’s a solid start.

What else happened at the box office this weekend?

(L to R) Luigi (Charlie Day), Mario (Chris Pratt), Yoshi (Donald Glover) and Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) in Nintendo and Illumination’s 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie', directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic.

Previous champion ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ was pushed down to second place after three weekends in the No. 1 spot. Universal’s animated sequel added $21.2 million, boosting revenues to $384 million domestically and more than $800 million globally.

‘Project Hail Mary’, meanwhile, was third with $13.2 million, a remarkable tally for a film in its sixth weekend of release. So far, the space epic has generated a mighty $305 million in North America and $613 million worldwide.

What about other new releases?

(L to R) Michaela Coel and Anne Hathaway in 'Mother Mary'. Photo: A24.

Besides ‘Michael,’ other new releases fared less well. A24’s thriller ‘Mother Mary’, starring Anne Hathaway as a pop star on the eve of a comeback, earned $1.3 million.

And ‘Lorne’, a documentary about ‘Saturday Night Live’ boss Lorne Michaels, struggled to break out with $70,000 from 248 theaters. The film has collected $426,000 while playing in limited release.