'Michael' breaks record to become highest-grossing biopic of all time
It’s bad, it’s bad, it’s really really bad... But it’s breaking all the records.
Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic has become the highest-grossing biopic in cinema history, grossing $977.4m worldwide and overtaking Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning Oppenheimer.
Oppenheimer grossed $975.8m worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, and went on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor.
Earlier this month, Michael overtook Bohemian Rhapsody as the top-grossing music biopic. Now in its 10th week in cinemas, the $1bn mark seems all but inevitable.
Released in April 2026, Michael follows Michael Jackson’s rise from child stardom with the The Jackson 5 to becoming the “King of Pop”. Despite its success at the box office, the film has been heavily criticised for not touching upon some of the more problematic aspects of Jackson’s life.
The backlash against the film was due to the film not engaging with the child sexual abuse allegations made against the star before his death in 2009. According to reports, an earlier version of the film addressed these allegations, but lawyers for Jackson’s estate shut it down in favoure of a more crowd-pleasing approach. This led to lengthy reshoots reportedly funded by the Jackson estate.
In Euronews Culture’s review of Michael, we wrote: “Michael only functions as an insultingly blatant hagiography. It removes everything from his early life story that could be deemed contentious. (...) No need for any of that in this drama-free, formulaic and estate-controlled excuse to sell more albums. Instead, this biopic is sanitized to the point of being translucent and only caters to undiscerning fans who just want to hear the hits and witness recreations of iconic MJ moments.”
A sequel to Michael is reportedly in the works, with Adam Fogelson, the Head of Lionsgate, sharing that the second part could be shooting this year or in 2027.
When asked about what could feature in the sequel, Fogelson pointed to Jackson’s 1993 Super Bowl halftime performance as an example.
Pressed about whether the sequel would mention the accusations levelled against Jackson, he replied: “It’s a really complicated question, and I’m not sure I think that I am the best person or now is the best time.”