Michael on track to set new biopic record as film reaches $41M on opening day

Yesterday saw the debut of Michael, the biopic starring Michael Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson. By and large, filmgoers adored the flick, and we have a feeling theater owners love it too, as it inches loser to its $88 million opening goal. As it stands, the film sits at around $41 million after its opening day, which bear in mind, was a Friday, plenty of people now have all the time in the world to go to the cinema and watch.

At this rate, Michael is poised to surpass Christopher Nolan’s own biopic centered around J. Robert Oppenheimer, aptly named Oppenheimer. From the onset, industry projections of this doc were high, expecting it would at least beat out Straight Outta Compton, which holds the highest music biopic opening spot.

TheWrap points out a strong Saturday could spell $95 million domestically, and as with any flick, worldwide could cause that number to shoot up to as much as $180 million if Universal plays their cards right. Antoine Fuqua’s biopic is a certified hit with audiences, standing at a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes as well as an A- from CinemaScore, but remains a huge hit-or-miss for critics.

For Lionsgate, Michael has the potential to be the studio’s best opening since 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2. Additionally, no doubt as soon as it comes to streaming services, likely a few months after its theatrical run, it’ll see an even bigger boom on whatever streaming service nabs the streaming rights.

Michael covers much of the artist’s early life, but cuts off at 1988, which leads to much of the negative press, such as his child sexual abuse allegations, not being addressed or discussed. Meanwhile, the Michael Jackson Estate has successfully forced HBO to pull the equally controversial Leaving Neverland, the documentary centered around the allegations against the King of Pop.