Antoine Fuqua’s Michael has become the highest-grossing biopic in cinema history, weeks after overtaking Bohemian Rhapsody as the top-grossing music biopic and now surpassing Oppenheimer with $977.4m worldwide. The film, which stars Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in his acting debut as the late pop star, overtook Oppenheimer’s global theatrical haul of about $975m during its 10th weekend in cinemas.Michael has grossed $977.4m worldwide after 10 weekends in cinemas, according to Deadline. Released in April 2026, the film follows Michael Jackson’s rise from child stardom with the The Jackson 5 to becoming the “King of Pop”, tracing his early life, family dynamics, and solo breakthrough through landmark performances and albums like Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad. Michael also stars Colman Domingo and Nia Long playing his parents, Joe and Katherine Jackson, alongside Miles Teller and Laura Harrier in supporting roles.Before Michael, the box office record for a biopic belonged to Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a sprawling three-hour drama about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the moral fallout of building the atomic bomb. The film, led by Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer and featuring Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, and Robert Downey Jr., grossed $975.8m worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo, and won seven Oscars including best picture, best director, best actor, and best supporting actor.Antoine Fuqua’s Michael has become the highest-grossing biopic in cinema history (Lionsgate)Michael had already broken another major benchmark earlier this month, when it surpassed the $911m global gross of 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, the Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic that had long been the highest-grossing music biographical film.Released in 2018, the Rami Malek starrer grossed $216.6m domestically and $694.3m internationally during its theatrical run. Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 dayNew subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.Try for freeADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 dayNew subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.Try for freeADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.Of Michael’s current $977.4m global total, $370.2m has come from the domestic box office, while $607.2m has come from international markets. Its overseas performance has been particularly strong, making about $70m in the UK, more than $55m in France, and more than $30m each in Mexico, Brazil, and Australia.The film opened to $97m in North America and $217.4m globally in April, setting a new opening weekend record for a musical biopic. It also became Lionsgate’s highest-grossing theatrical release and the highest-grossing biopic at the domestic box office, despite moving to premium video-on-demand after a 46-day theatrical window, far shorter than Oppenheimer’s 123-day exclusive cinema run before digital release.Michael opened to negative reviews from critics, with The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey awarding it one star and labelling the film a “ghoulish, soulless cash grab”. “If Michael exists to smooth out an icon’s legacy, it does so by eradicating anything that might indicate intent or agency beyond some nebulous idea that Jackson was a dreamer destined to ‘spread love and heal,’” wrote Loughrey.Michael overtook Oppenheimer ’s global theatrical haul of about $975m during its 10th weekend in cinemas (Universal Pictures)The choice to end the film in 1988 had prompted backlash at the time of its release, as the film does not engage with the child sexual abuse allegations made against him before his death in 2009 and instead leaves them out altogether. According to reports, an earlier version of the film addressed the 1993 abuse allegations and subsequent investigation, but lawyers for Jackson’s estate identified a prior settlement with an accuser that “precluded any depiction or mention of them in a film”. This led to 22 days of reshoots, which the Jackson estate reportedly directly funded, and cost between $10m-$15m, according to Variety. Jackson, who died in 2009, denied all allegations made against him during his lifetime. He was charged in 2003 with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to a minor, but was acquitted on all counts in 2005. A sequel is also reportedly in development. In May, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson said during the studio’s quarterly earnings call that the company was “really excited about the progress” on a second Michael film, adding that there remained “a ton of incredibly entertaining Michael Jackson story” still to explore, including parts of his life and music career not covered in the first film.