Lionsgate and Universal didn’t expect ‘Michael’ to be such a box office smash, especially given the controversy leading up to its release. With $217 million in global box office receipts, it ranks as the sixth highest-grossing film of 2026.
Not even in their wildest dreams did Lionsgate and Universal expect the Michael Jackson biopic to dominate the box office as it has, especially after the controversy surrounding it forced them to cut scenes depicting the singer’s alleged sexual abuse, which added an additional $50 million to the budget. An additional $50 million will be a drop in the bucket for what is expected to be a historic box office performance. ‘Michael’ opened this weekend with $97 million in the United States, reaching $217.4 million worldwide.
With these figures, the film directed by Antoine Fuqua has far exceeded all expectations—which, in the week of its release, hovered around $50 million following mixed reviews from the press. In terms of records, it is the second-best opening of the year behind ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ and the best opening for a biopic in the United States, surpassing ‘Oppenheimer,’ which held the record until now. It also trounces the openings of musical biopics such as ‘Straight Outta Compton’ and ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’
The film, which grossed an impressive $24,252 per screen, is a co-production between Lionsgate (which is handling distribution in the United States), Universal (which is handling international distribution), and the Michael Jackson Estate. Focusing on Lionsgate, this is its best opening since the pandemic and the sixth-best in its history. Additionally, ‘Michael’ is already the sixth highest-grossing film of 2026 worldwide.
Now, of course, we’ll have to wait and see how the film performs over time and what records it might break. Remember that, despite a much more modest opening, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ ended up being a massive phenomenon, especially internationally, grossing $910 million.
‘Super Mario Galaxy’ Surpasses $800 Million
Second place at the box office went to ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,’ which in its fourth weekend grossed $21.2 million, a 41.9% drop from last week. The film continues to perform well internationally, and this weekend it opened in Japan, where it grossed nearly $10 million. In total, the film has now grossed $831 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 2026 and the 104th highest-grossing film of all time. The film is now $529 million away from matching the box office total of its first installment, released in 2023.
‘Project Hail Mary‘ held its own in its sixth week, grossing $13.2 million—a drop of just 35.6% from last week. Ryan Gosling’s film managed to cross the $300 million mark, confirming its success.
More poor numbers for ‘The Mummy’ by Lee Cronin. In its second week, the horror film dropped by a whopping 58.3%, bringing in $5.63 million and a cumulative total of $23.4 million. The film, which has been a flop in the United States, has performed much better in international markets, where it has already grossed $42 million for a total of $65 million. That’s more than enough to more than recoup its $22 million budget.
The top 5 for the weekend goes to ‘The Drama,’ which holds strong in its second week with an additional $2.6 million, bringing its U.S. total to $44.8 million. The film starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson has already surpassed the $100 million mark internationally, marking yet another success for A24.
Sixth and seventh place at the box office go to ‘Hoppers’ and ‘You, Me & Tuscany,’ which managed to outperform the debut of ‘Over Your Dead Body.’ The black comedy starring Samara Weaving and Jason Segel took in $1.4 million. Disappointing numbers also for ‘Mother Mary,’ which, after sweeping the box office last week with its limited release, got a reality check with an additional $1.2 million in revenue for a U.S. total of $1.4 million.
Rounding out the top three is the documentary about rapper NBA Youngboy, which grossed $1.19 million in its opening week.
Next week kicks off the summer release season with the premiere of the highly anticipated ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’. As always, we’ll keep you updated here.
