'Michael' Opens $97M Domestically, $217M Global
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- 'Michael' opened to $97M domestic and $217.4M worldwide per Sunday AM estimates, drawing 6.3M North American admissions (ahead of Project Hail Mary's 4.9M opening)
- Imax generated $24.4M globally on the film—the format's biggest musical biopic debut ever and Lionsgate's top Imax opening in North America, with $13.8M from 427 domestic Imax screens
- The opening is Lionsgate's biggest since 2015's Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 and its best post-Covid launch, per the report
- Antoine Fuqua scored his career-best opening, topping Equalizer 2's $36M; producer Graham King also surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody's $51M
- Production cost a net $200M after the Jackson estate covered $50M for 20 additional shooting days tied to the dramatized accuser storyline, per Lionsgate's Adam Fogelson
- The marketing campaign spent ~$50M domestically and $100-120M globally; the trailer hit 116.2M views in 24 hours (a Lionsgate record) and the overall social push cleared 564M+ views
- The industry-wide weekend hit $154.3M, up 5% from a year earlier, with 2026 year-to-date box office at $2.6B (+17%)
Why it matters: Lionsgate's biggest opening in a decade validates Adam Fogelson's mid-budget, original-IP strategy in a tentpole-dominated market. The $200M production survived 20 days of reshoots, a dramatized accuser, and largely negative reviews—proving Jackson's audience draw can still outweigh controversy, with $24.4M of the haul coming from Imax alone.
