“Michael” commanded “Beat It” for the rest of the domestic box office, as Lionsgate’s biopic about the King of Pop easily secured the top spot on Friday’s charts.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, “Michael” grossed $39.5 million in its opening day from 3,955 theaters in North America. Early predictions are that the film is expected to reach a staggering $90 million to $100 million in box office receipts by Sunday. This is the highest debut ever for a music biopic, surpassing 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody ($51 million) and 2015’s Straight Outta Compton ($60 million).
Lionsgate needs “Michael” to pay his huge salary because he has a huge production budget of $155 million, weighed down by expensive music rights and lavish concert sets. The Jackson Foundation had to pay tens of millions of dollars more because the third law was determined to be unusable. The third installment of “Michael” dealt with a 1993 lawsuit that accused Michael Jackson of child sexual abuse, an allegation that Michael vehemently denied. After the film was shot, producers revealed that the terms of their settlement with their accusers included a clause that prohibited them from being portrayed or mentioned in any film or television project.
Fuqua was forced to rework the film to center around Michael Jackson’s relationship with his controlling father, Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo. Jafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew, plays the King of Pop. Other cast members include Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Tre Horton as Marlon Jackson, Ryan Hill and Tito Jackson, Joseph David Jones as Jackie Jackson, and Jamal Henderson as Jermaine Jackson.
“Michael” is the only major newcomer of the weekend. 2nd place went to “Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” and 3rd place went to “Project Hail Mary.” Universal’s video game sequel added $4.5 million on Friday and will collect $20.5 million by Sunday. By the end of the week, Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s North American revenue should reach $385 million. “Project Hail Mary” grossed $3.5 million on Friday. It is expected to gross $12.1 a share by Sunday, bringing the domestic total to $304 million.
Rounding out Friday’s top five were “Lee Cronin’s Hamunaptra” and “The Drama.” “The Mummy” came in at No. 4, grossing just $1.9 million in its second Friday. It is expected to gross about $5 million by Sunday, bringing the total in North America to $22 million. “The Drama” came in fifth place with an estimated box office revenue of $810,000. By Sunday, competitors expect the company to have revenue of $2.6 million, with North American sales rising to about $44 million.
