‘Michael’ Rocks Box Office With Record-Setting $97 Million Debut https://t.co/bgvDF5aj3L
— Variety (@Variety) April 26, 2026
Michael, the extremely selective Michael Jackson biopic that debuted this weekend, set records this weekend with a $97 million domestic opening and $217 million globally. It’s the biggest biopic opening of all time by far, and the second biggest opening of the year so far behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which opened at $131 million. Audiences gave it an A- Cinemascore, far kinder than the terrible reviews bestowed upon the film by critics. The film cost $200 million to produce and was a mess behind the scenes, leading to a two part split, but it looks like it will have been worth it for Lionsgate and Universal.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which reigned over theaters since its opening four weeks ago, slipped to the second spot with $21.2 million. So far, it has made $384 million domestically and more than $800 million globally.
Project Hail Mary is still holding strong at the box office, taking in $13.2 million for a third place finish. It has made $305 million in North America and $600 million worldwide, a success for Amazon even before it hits their streaming service.
In fourth place was Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, which brought in $5.6 million for a total domestic take of $23.5 million in its second weekend of release.
In its fourth weekend of release, The Drama has pulled in an additional $2.6 million, good for fifth place at the box office and $44.8 million total. It’s at a very similar total domestic gross as 2024’s Challengers, also an adult drama starring Zendaya, in the same point in its run. That film ended its theatrical run with $50 million in North America and $46 million internationally, but The Drama has been doing better overseas.
New comedy Over Your Dead Body had a muted debut weekend, bringing in just under $1.5 million in over 1500 theaters, good for eighth place. Just behind it was Mother Mary, which expanded from a handful of theaters last weekend to 1100 this weekend, bringing in $1.3 million for a total domestic gross of approximately $1.5 million.
