Easily dancing to the top spot, the long-awaited Michael did not disappoint at all in its debut, breaking biopic records both domestically and overseas. Studios chose to avoid releasing anything else that would have some big numbers; Over Your Dead Body had a mediocre start, while Mother Mary flopped in its wide expansion.

The Top 10 earned a combined $146.9 million this weekend. That's up 4.3% from last year, when Sinners posted an incredible second weekend hold.

Debuting on first place, Lionsgate's Michael earned a dazzling $97.2 million in 3,955 theaters. That's the biggest ever debut for a music biopic, above Bohemian Rhapsody ($51 million) and Straight Outta Compton ($60.2 million), and Lionsgate's sixth biggest ever debut. It's also the biggest for any biopic, dethroning Oppenheimer ($82.4 million). It was also director Antoine Fuqua's biggest ever debut, far above The Equalizer 2 ($36 million), and it's actually just one day away from outgrossing that film's domestic total ($102 million) to become his highest-grossing film.

There could be a lot of factors to explain why it opened this high. But the explanation is actually very simple.

It's Michael Jackson.

There are a lot of popular singers. The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, etc. They're all big. But Michael Jackson is in another level of popularity. His music has transcended every possible generation, whether it's kids, teens, adults or seniors. He's basically a four-quadrant singer, in ways that very, very few singers can get in. It's damn near impossible to find someone who never listened to "Thriller", "Beat It" or "Billie Jean", which puts him a level above all these singers. His music has been heard in remote corners of the world, further showing his presence. If there was a title for "the most popular singer to ever exist", Michael Jackson is a strong contender for that.

And his popularity hasn't waned off in the 17 years since his death; he had 62.4 million monthly listeners in Spotify one month ago. With the film's release, that figure has grown to 71.7 million. That makes him the 22nd biggest artist in the site, above current popular names like Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Adele and Beyoncé. When you make a biopic, the subject's popularity is something very important.

Lionsgate knew they had a potential hit in their hands, and heavily pushed it over the past weeks, including having Jaafar Jackson (Michael's nephew and the film's star) go viral through multiple interviews. They specifically sold this as "the movie of a lifetime", covering his childhood to the "Bad Tour". They highlighted the greatest hits, specifically recreating part of "Thriller". This is the formula that drove Bohemian Rhapsody to break numerous records back in 2018.

Now, there's the elephant in the room. Jackson's popularity has taken a dive due to multiple child sexual abuse accusations, which go all the way to the 90s. This has gained more notoriety in the past years, thanks to the documentary Leaving Neverland. That led many to question how the film would integrate this. And in case you didn't know, the producers weren't planning to ignore it; they actually filmed part of it.

Per a Variety report, the film would open in medias res in 1993 following the first allegations, with Jackson staring at his reflection as police arrive at his home in Neverland Ranch. The third act dealt with the impact of the allegations on Jackson's life. This was all shot, but due to a clause, it had to be completely discarded. It was discovered in a settlement with one of Jackson's accusers, Jordan Chandler, that the estate was forbidden from any mention of Chandler in film.

This is why the film was delayed from its October 2025 date to its current date, as the producers had to re-write and shoot a whole new third act. Retooling the whole act cost $50 million, taking the film's budget to a steep $200 million. Lionsgate then started considering splitting the film in two parts, depending on how this film performs at the box office.

So how come audiences weren't swayed away from checking it out? Well, there's two reasons. For starters, the general audiences doesn't care over what happens behind the scenes of a film. The average moviegoer isn't checking background information of a film's development, and they couldn't care less. They only care if the film looks good or interests them. Something similar happened with World War Z; the film had a very messy production that resulted in extensive re-shoots, but it was still a hit at the box office because no one cared about how difficult filming was.

The second, and this is a very heavy thing to handle, is that a lot of people are mixed on the case. A lot of people believe them and condemn Jackson, but others either don't care or dismiss them as hoax, and others aren't even aware of it. Or maybe the fact that the film doesn't address any of that makes the decision to check it out even easier, as audiences just want to relive the "Greatest Hits" on the big screen. Of course, critics weren't impressed (a very poor 38% on RT), but Jackson's fans were already on board from the moment this was greenlit.

According to Lionsgate, 61% of the audience was female. As an evidence of Michael Jackson's popularity, it had a very diverse audience: 38% of the audience was black, 26% was Hispanic/Latino, 24% was Caucasian, and 6% was Asian. And you can't even say only boomers care about the film; 58% of the audience was 35 and under. This means that Gen Z and Millennials were its prime demographics.

Critics disliked the film, but the audience was more forgiving. They gave it a solid "A–" on CinemaScore. That's good word of mouth, although not quite as strong as other biopics, as those often get an "A". It's unlikely it can hold as well as Bohemian Rhapsody, especially with a higher opening. But regardless, Michael should finish with over $270 million domestically, and there's the possibility that it could make it to $300 million. Whatever the case, it's guaranteed to pass Bohemian ($216 million) to become the highest-grossing music biopic domestically.

It doesn't look like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is capable of dropping less than 40% on a weekend. With Michael's arrival, the film dropped 44% for $20.5 million. The film has amassed $385.8 million, which is $104.9 million behind the original through the same point. With The Devil Wears Prada 2 set for a big debut next week, another rough drop is inevitable for Mario. It looks like $450 million is out of reach.

In third place, Project Hail Mary refuses to slow down. It eased just 37% this weekend, earning $12.8 million. The film has earned $305 million domestically, and it looks to finish with around $330 million in the market.

After a soft start, Lee Cronin's The Mummy dropped a rough 59%, earning $5.5 million. Through 10 days, the film has made $23.3 million, and it looks like it will finish below $30 million domestically.

A24's The Drama keeps floating. It earned $2.6 million, which is off just 44% from last week. The film has earned a great $44.8 million so far.

Disney/Pixar's Hoppers eased a light 37%, grossing $1.9 million. The film's domestic total stands at $164.1 million.

You, Me & Tuscany doesn't have much life left. It dropped a poor 62%, earning just $1.4 million. With $17.6 million in the tank, it's now assured to miss $20 million.

IFC released Jorma Taccone's action comedy Over Your Dead Body in 1,550 theaters, but the film earned a mediocre $1.3 million. That's a very weak $899 per-theater average. Don't expect this to hang around for long.

In ninth place, A24 expanded David Lowery's Mother Mary to 1,103 theaters, but it could only muster $1.2 million. The film's rollout didn't do it any favors, with A24 only setting the release date two months ago. Mixed reviews (68% on RT) also probably dissuaded others from checking it. Given its $20 million budget, this is a flop. No need to cry for Anne Hathaway, though; she's got a new hit next week.

Rounding out the Top 10 was the concert film American YoungBoy, which made $1.1 million despite playing in just 583 theaters.

David Mackenzie's thriller Fuze was released in 1,164 theaters, but it made just $1 million.

Sony Pictures Classics released the British drama I Swear in 645 theaters, where it debuted with a so-so $666,403.

Steven Soderbergh's The Christophers might not actually make it to a wide release, as the film actually lost screens on its third week, earning just $313,422 and taking its domestic total to a weak $1.3 million.

20th Century Studios re-released Fight Club in 700 theaters, but it made a poor $228,468. That takes its lifetime gross to $37.8 million.

OVERSEAS

But regardless of how popular Michael Jackson is in North America, the real story is overseas, where he was even bigger. While Lionsgate is handling the domestic sales, the overseas performance was handled by Universal, which pulled an even more extensive marketing campaign. And it looks like it paid off.

Michael debuted with a strong $121.6 million overseas, for a fantastic $218.8 million worldwide launch, the biggest ever for a biopic. In one single weekend, it overtook King Arthur ($204 million) to become Antoine Fuqua's highest grossing film worldwide. The biggest debuts were in the UK ($15.6M), France ($10.2M), Mexico ($9.8M), Brazil ($8.2M), Italy ($8.1M), Germany ($7.2M), Spain ($6.8M), Australia ($6.5M), China ($5.9M), Peru ($2.8M), and Netherlands ($2.4M). The one notable market where it didn't open was Japan, where it will open in mid June. Given Jackson's massive popularity in the country and how Bohemian Rhapsody performed insanely well ($115.6 million alone in Japan), expect big numbers there.

Given the strong debuts and how biopics tend to hold well, it looks like Michael is heading for a very healthy run across the world. Recouping that $200 million budget won't be any problem. It remains to be seen how high it can get, but $600 million worldwide should be an easy target.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie added $36.6 million overseas, for a $830.8 million worldwide total. It notably opened in its home country, Japan, with $9.8 million (although that's below the original's $13.5 million). It should still hit the billion milestone, even if it takes a while.

Project Hail Mary added $12.2 million overseas, allowing it to cross $600 million worldwide. It should overtake The Martian ($630 million) by next week.

Lee Cronin's The Mummy may be fizzling out domestically, but the overseas markets are here to save it. It added $12.4 million, for a $65.3 million worldwide total. Mexico ($4.2M), India ($2.7M), the UK ($2.5M), Spain ($2.3M) and France ($2M). Given its low $22 million budget, it's already profitable.

With $67 million overseas, The Drama has now earned a damn great $111.8 million worldwide.

FILMS THAT ENDED THEIR RUN THIS WEEK

None.

THIS WEEKEND

Even with its impressive debut, Michael is not gonna keep the top spot on its second weekend. For there's another highly-anticipated film coming up to kickstart the summer season.

That's 20th Century Studios' The Devil Wears Prada 2, the sequel to the 2006 hit. Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci are back as leads, and they're joined by Justin Theroux and Kenneth Branagh. The 2006 film was a huge hit, earning over $320 million worldwide, and that popularity has sustained over the past 20 years, with multiple quotes and scenes forming part of pop culture. Pre-sales are incredibly strong, which suggests you don't need to be an action blockbuster to open the summer season in a huge note.

STREAMING DATA

Figures for the week of April 13 to April 19 on Netflix:

No. Movie Year Studio Weeks in Top 10 Views Runtime Hours viewed 1 Thrash 2026 Netflix 2 34,500,000 1:26 49,500,000 2 180 2026 Netflix 1 9,500,000 1:35 15,000,000 3 Roommates 2026 Netflix 1 8,800,000 1:47 15,700,000 4 Sisu 2023 Sony 1 4,500,000 1:31 6,900,000 5 Toaster 2026 Netflix 1 4,400,000 2:06 9,200,000 6 KPop Demon Hunters 2025 Netflix 44 4,400,000 1:40 7,400,000 7 Sniper 2 2002 Sony 1 3,600,000 1:31 5,500,000 8 War Machine 2026 Netflix 7 3,500,000 1:49 6,300,000 9 Feel My Voice 2026 Netflix 1 3,500,000 1:46 6,200,000 10 Husband, Father, Killer: The Alyssa Pladl Story 2026 Netflix 1 3,400,000 1:28 5,000,000

Thrash kept the top spot on its second week with 34.5 million views, taking its 10-day tally to 72.2 million views.

Two Netflix titles, 180 and Roommates debuted over the weekend, but none cracked 10 million views.

As you can see, don't expect KPop Demon Hunters to leave the Top 10 anytime soon.

War Machine returned to the Top 10 with 3.5 million views, taking its lifetime total to 125.2 million views.

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