Jaafar Jackson’s turn as his uncle has helped push Michael into the record books. The Michael Jackson biopic has become the highest-grossing musical biopic ever, reaching $911.9 million worldwide as it opened in Japan on the day of the report.
The milestone matters because the film did not just edge past an old mark. It surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody, which had topped the genre with $216.6 million in the United States and $694.3 million abroad. Michael now stands at $358.6 million domestically and $553.3 million internationally, a run that has turned a star vehicle for Jaafar Jackson into one of the biggest commercial stories of the year.
The money is flowing through more than one channel. Universal generated $540.5 million of the international total after taking foreign theatrical and ancillary rights, while Lionsgate is handling the Japan release with Kino. The film had also taken in $10 million in Russia, where Lionsgate held theatrical rights. For a music biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua and backed by Graham King, the scale is the kind studios rarely see outside tentpole franchises.
But the box-office victory sits beside a costly production problem that is hard to ignore. The movie required $50 million in reshoots after the Jackson estate overlooked a key plot point in the screenplay about one of Michael Jackson’s accusers. That kind of fix is not the normal aftertaste of a record-setting release, and it shows how expensive a mistake can become even when the finished film connects with audiences.
Still, the release in Japan gives Michael another shot at the numbers. If the film keeps building overseas, it could become only the second title to cross $1 billion at the 2026 global box office. For now, the clearest fact is the one on the board: Jaafar Jackson has carried a film that has already beaten the genre’s benchmark, and it is still playing for more.
