The King of Pop’s biopic just hit a number that no biography has ever touched before. The Michael Jackson biopic crossed a historic box office milestone, but a familiar animated franchise is already closing in on its throne.
Michael finally enters the Billion Dollar club
Antoine Fuqua’s Michael biopic officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office on July 12, 2026. The film earned $371.8 million domestically and $629.8 million internationally, according to Box Office Mojo. Lionsgate distributed the film in the United States while Universal Pictures handled international territories.
The milestone makes Michael the first biographical film ever to reach $1 billion globally. It also surpassed The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($865 million) to become the highest-grossing Lionsgate release of all time. Jaafar Jackson, who portrays his uncle in the lead role, became the first actor to debut with a $1 billion film.
Michael opened with $97.2 million domestically on April 24, setting the record for the biggest opening weekend for a biographical musical film. The previous record holder was Straight Outta Compton, which debuted at $60.2 million in 2015. Internationally, the film launched with $121.6 million across multiple territories.
The film reached several milestones on its path to $1 billion. It surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody ($911 million) on June 14 to become the highest-grossing musical biopic ever. Two weeks later, it overtook Oppenheimer ($975 million) for the highest-grossing biographical film overall. France ($57 million) and the United Kingdom ($71.4 million) led international earnings.
Michael currently ranks as the second-highest-grossing film of 2026, trailing only The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Toy Story 5, which opened in June with a record-breaking $310.2 million global debut, sits in third place with $879 million worldwide. The Pixar sequel earned $404 million domestically and $475 million internationally during its theatrical run.
Lionsgate announced in May that a Michael sequel covering Jackson’s later life is now in development..
