Box Office: “Michael” opens strongly with $39.5M debut, on track to break record for best opening of a music biopic
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, the film Michael has entered the box office race with remarkable strength, easily topping the domestic U.S. box office on its opening day and outperforming competing titles with a result that exceeded expectations.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film grossed approximately $39.5 million on its first day across 3,955 theaters in North America. Early projections suggest the film could reach between $90 million and $100 million by the end of the opening weekend. If confirmed, Michael would achieve the highest opening weekend ever for a music biopic, surpassing titles such as Bohemian Rhapsody and Straight Outta Compton.
Lionsgate is heavily invested in the project’s success, with a reported production budget of around $155 million—partly driven by music licensing costs and large-scale concert recreations. Reports also indicate that Michael Jackson’s family incurred significant additional expenses after the film’s original ending became unusable.
The original ending was said to focus on the 1993 child abuse allegations against Michael Jackson, but it was later discovered that a clause in a legal settlement prohibited the depiction or reference of that case in film and television productions. As a result, the production team rewrote the ending, shifting the focus toward Michael Jackson’s relationship with his father, Joe Jackson, portrayed by Colman Domingo.
In the film, Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, plays the lead role. The cast also includes Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Terron Horton as Marlon Jackson, Ryan Hill as Tito Jackson, Joseph David-Jones as Jackie Jackson, and Jamal Henderson as Jermaine Jackson.
Michael is the only major new release of the weekend. Holding second and third place at the box office are Super Mario Galaxy and Project Hail Mary, respectively. The video game sequel Super Mario Galaxy earned $4.5 million on Friday and is projected to reach around $20.5 million over the weekend, bringing its domestic total to approximately $385 million.
Project Hail Mary earned $3.5 million on Friday and is expected to reach $12.1 million for the weekend, with a domestic total climbing to around $304 million.
Further down the Friday box office rankings, The Mummy and Drama followed. The Mummy earned $1.9 million in its second Friday and is projected to reach about $5 million for the weekend, bringing its domestic total to $22 million. Drama placed fifth with $810,000 on Friday and is expected to reach $2.6 million for the weekend, pushing its domestic total to $44 million.
