Move over, Freddie Mercury — Michael Jackson just claimed the crown. The Jackson 5 biopic Michael has officially surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing music biopic in history, pulling in $911.9 million at the global box office, according to Rolling Stone.
Lionsgate confirmed the numbers, with $358 million earned domestically and $553 million internationally — before this weekend's receipts. The 2018 Queen biopic, which earned Rami Malek a Best Actor Oscar, collected $910 million worldwide. Michael exceeded it.
The film achieved this success despite poor critical reception and backlash for omitting the child sexual abuse allegations that marked Jackson's later years. Audiences, however, responded in force.
The biopic chronicles Jackson's early rise with his brothers in the Jackson 5 through his iconic 1988 Bad tour. It is a commercial success that demonstrates the continued appetite for the King of Pop's story.
This record will be difficult to break. Music biopics are proliferating, but Michael has set a new ceiling for films telling pop icons' stories.
