Michael added $28.5 million overseas over the weekend and pushed its global total to $788 million, bringing the musical biopic within sight of the $800 million mark.
The film has now earned $468 million from international markets and $319 million domestically, a split that makes its remaining territory openings — and one major market in particular — decisive for its final standing.
That market is Japan, which has yet to open for Michael. With Japan still on the calendar, distributors say the film’s global tally is poised to climb further; industry trackers expect the release there to provide a meaningful boost to the overall total.
Those numbers matter because Michael is on a collision course with Bohemian Rhapsody, the current record-holder among musical biopics at $911 million worldwide. If Michael continues on its present trajectory and picks up the expected gains from Japan and other late openings, it is expected to eventually surpass Bohemian Rhapsody’s global total and become the highest-grossing musical biopic of all time.
But the marketplace is crowded. The Devil Wears Prada 2 crossed $600 million worldwide this weekend after collecting $21 million overseas in its fourth weekend and sits at nearly $200 million in North America with $408 million internationally. Meanwhile, The Mandalorian and Grogu opened to $64 million from 51 territories and collected $82 million in North America over the weekend, reaching an estimated $102 million through Memorial Day and a $145 million global total over three days — $165 million over the four-day frame. Those competing grosses show the scale of the summer field and how box office momentum can shift from market to market.
For Michael, the math is simple and stark: it needs roughly $123 million to match Bohemian Rhapsody’s $911 million. With $788 million on the ledger and Japan unopened, the remaining gap is large but not unprecedented for a film that has already attracted global audiences across multiple territories. Universal, which handles the international rollout, and Lionsgate, the domestic distributor, engineered the staggered release strategy that has driven the current totals.
The tension for the film is structural. It has already posted substantial international receipts — $468 million — while its domestic box office stands at $319 million. That split leaves Michael dependent on remaining overseas windows to deliver the headline-making sums that come with record bids. If late openings underperform or if other summer releases siphon audiences in key markets, the film could stall short of the benchmark. Conversely, a strong Japan launch would reduce the gap significantly and make the climb to $911 million realistic.
Once Japan opens, the path forward will be clearer: the film either adds the remaining tens of millions needed to claim the top musical-biopic spot, or it falls short and leaves Bohemian Rhapsody’s 2018 record intact. Given Michael’s current pace — $28.5 million overseas in a single weekend and $788 million globally to date — the expectation within the marketplace is that the film will close the distance and set a new high-water mark for the genre.
For now, michael box office watchers will focus on the Japan release as the decisive next chapter: it is the largest outstanding variable and the most likely source of the additional revenue required to eclipse $911 million and establish Michael as the highest-grossing musical biopic in history.
