A decade in the making. A billion-dollar payoff.
Jaafar Jackson in “Michael.” Photo: Courtesy
Lionsgate Films
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Industry tracking had Michael opening between $65 million and $70 million. Reviews were mixed. The film had spent nearly a decade in development, reportedly cost between $155 million and $200 million, and cast an actor making his feature-film debut in the title role.
Twelve weekends later, it became the first biopic ever to cross $1 billion worldwide.
The milestone gave director Antoine Fuquaa record no filmmaker had ever achieved in the genre. Michael surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody as the highest-grossing music biopic, overtook Oppenheimer as the biggest biopic of any kind, and delivered Lionsgate its first billion-dollar release.
“Reaching this extraordinary $1 billion milestone with Michael is a deeply humbling moment that celebrates the tireless dedication of our incredible producers, cast, crew and partners,” Fuqua said in a statement.
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A full-circle moment
For Fuqua, the project was also personal.
Long before directing Training Day, The Equalizer films and Emancipation, he built his career directing music videos for artists including Prince, Stevie Wonder and Toni Braxton. He has often credited Michael Jackson as the inspiration that first drew him to the format.
“I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work, the first Black artist to play in heavy rotation on MTV,” Fuqua said in 2023. “His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
