‘Michael’ Surpasses ‘Oppenheimer’ as Highest-Grossing Biopic With $977 Million Worldwide
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- "Michael" grossed $977 million worldwide, surpassing "Oppenheimer" ($975 million) to become the highest-grossing biopic of all time, a record Nolan set with his R-rated, nearly three-hour historical drama
- The film had already dethroned 2018's "Bohemian Rhapsody" ($911 million worldwide) as the biggest musical biopic ever
- Distributed by Lionsgate in the U.S. and Universal internationally, "Michael" has earned $607.2 million overseas and $370.2 million domestically since opening in April
- "Michael" opened to $97 million domestically and $217 million globally, shattering the musical biopic opening record previously held by 2015's "Straight Outta Compton" ($60 million), and stayed strong through word of mouth into the summer season
- Director Antoine Fuqua's film stars Jaafar Jackson — Michael Jackson's real-life nephew — in his acting debut, with Colman Domingo and Nia Long as parents Joe and Katherine Jackson
- Film critics noted "Michael" takes a "sanitized" approach by omitting the child sexual abuse allegations leveled against Jackson later in his career, a choice that allowed Lionsgate to market the film around crowd-pleasing concert recreations
- "Michael" is now Lionsgate's highest-grossing release ever, surpassing 2013's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" ($865 million), and the studio is expected to greenlight at least one more Jackson biopic
Why it matters: A Michael Jackson musical biopic overtaking Nolan's prestige three-hour R-rated drama as the top-grossing biopic ever ($977M vs. $975M) shows how nostalgia-driven spectacle can outdraw critical prestige. Lionsgate now owns its single highest-grossing film in studio history — overtaking "Catching Fire" by $112 million — and is positioned to build a franchise of additional Jackson films. The record, however, was built on a version of Jackson's life that omits the abuse allegations, a framing choice critics flagged and that shaped the crowd-pleasing marketing strategy behind the milestone.
