A strong showing in Japan has kept the Michael Jackson biopic on a record-breaking trajectory, with the film now close to crossing the $1 billion global box office mark.
Lionsgate’s Michael, directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by John Logan, has performed strongly at the box office both domestically and in international markets. It has already set a new benchmark in the genre by surpassing Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing music biopic ever. With its release in Japan now underway, the film is expected to climb to even higher earnings.
As of last week, the film has accumulated more than $911.9 million globally, and its release in Japan may be enough to lift Michael over the $1 billion mark. If it does, it would become only the second movie of 2026 to reach that milestone worldwide, after Universal’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
For its Japanese release, Lionsgate teamed up with distributor Kino. The film earned roughly $2.3 million on its opening Friday, ranking as the second-strongest Hollywood opening day in Japan this year, just behind The Devil Wears Prada 2.
On its fourth day in Japan, Michael added an estimated $1.6 million, marking about a 33% dip from its weekend close and taking its total in the market to approximately $9 million. The performance tracks closely with the early Japanese run of Bohemian Rhapsody, pointing to solid staying power in the region.
Japan has long been a strong market for Michael Jackson-related releases. When the concert film This Is It premiered in 2011, the country accounted for $57 million of its $196 million international earnings. For Michael, industry analysts had estimated a three-day opening weekend in Japan of between $6.5 million and $8 million, a range that would place it ahead of both Bohemian Rhapsody and This Is It.
What initially appeared to be cautious projections is now being viewed as conservative, with analysts increasingly suggesting that Japan’s performance alone could be sufficient to propel Michael into the billion-dollar club.
