Michael reclaims No. 1 at box office, nears 704 million worldwide

Michael has reclaimed the top of North American theaters in its fourth weekend, adding about $26 million domestically and lifting its worldwide total to $703.9 million. The Michael Jackson biopic, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson, is holding far beyond the opening burst that made it one of the year’s most explosive debuts.

The film’s comeback to No. 1 is the clearest sign yet that audience appetite for event-driven legacy properties remains strong even as the theatrical market fragments. Michael opened in U.S. theaters on April 24 with a record $97 million domestic debut and about $217 million globally, then spent two weeks behind The Devil Wears Prada 2 before edging back ahead. Its North American total now stands at about $283 million, and it has already become the highest-grossing musical biopic in domestic box-office history.

That kind of endurance matters because the market has not been relying on one giant title alone. The Devil Wears Prada 2 finished second with $18 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $175.9 million and its worldwide gross to $546.2 million, including about $370 million internationally. Michael’s fourth-frame worldwide take was pegged at $83.8 million, keeping it in rare company among musical biopics even as it continues its long climb toward Bohemian Rhapsody, which remains the genre leader at roughly $911 million worldwide.

The weekend also brought a sharp reminder that low-budget breakouts can still cut through. Obsession opened to $16.1 million from 2,615 theaters, despite costing just $750,000 to make. The relationship horror film earned an A- CinemaScore and a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, with an opening audience that was 59% male and 40% between ages 25 and 34. Two other new releases, In the Grey and Is God Is, arrived with smaller starts of about $3 million from 2,018 theaters and about $2.2 million from 1,510 theaters.

Heading into Memorial Day weekend, overall ticket sales were running 16% ahead of last year, a sign the corridor into summer could still deliver meaningful momentum. Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian said theaters were optimistic because of the strength of holdovers and the impending arrival of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. For studios, the lesson from Michael is straightforward: when a film connects as both cultural event and repeat destination, audiences will keep showing up long after the first weekend fades.