Daniel Kreps
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Michael Kevin Mazur/Lionsgate Despite the controversy surrounding its release, Michael is on pace to break the box office record for a musical biopic in its opening week.
According to Lionsgate, which distributed the film, the Michael Jackson biopic is on track to score between $90 million to $100 million domestically in its first week of release, thanks in part to $12 million alone from pre-weekend early screenings and about $39.5 million on its opening day of release Friday.
Even if Michael hits the low end of the estimates, the film will still easily surpass Straight Outta Compton for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a musical biopic.
“This record-breaking performance is a testament to the incredible filmmaking team of producer Graham King and director Antoine Fuqua, an amazing cast led by Jaafar Jackson’s singular performance, our world-class partners at Universal, the cooperation and support of the Michael Jackson Estate, and our tireless and exceptionally talented Lionsgate team,” Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson said in a statement. “Above all, it reflects the tremendous outpouring of love and affection from moviegoers around the world, underscoring the strength and vitality of the theatrical box office. If you give audiences what they want, they will come.”
Worldwide, Michael is pacing to make approximately $200 million from global box office in its opening weekend. According to Billboard, that total would already propel Michael into the Top 5 for highest-grossing musical biopics of all time, and the King of Pop biopic would likely surpass Straight Outta Compton (Number Three with $201 million total) and Elvis (Number Two with $288 million) in the coming days.
However, Michael has a huge hill to climb in order to beat Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time; the Queen movie raked in $910 million worldwide during its theatrical run while also earning its star Rami Malek a Best Actor Oscar.
