Michael Jackson biopic overtakes Oppenheimer as highest-grossing biopic

Michael Jackson has a new box-office crown: his biopic has overtaken Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer to become the highest-grossing biopic of all time, with worldwide ticket sales of about $977.4 million. The film had already passed Bohemian Rhapsody to become the top-grossing music biopic, even as critics argued that its portrayal of Jackson was too sanitized.

Starring Jaafar Jackson as his uncle, the film opened in theaters on April 24, 2026, with a record $217 million global debut and $97 million in domestic sales. Antoine Fuqua directed the movie from a script by John Logan, while Lionsgate handled domestic distribution and Universal released it internationally. By mid-June, the film had already reached $911.9 million worldwide, setting up the final push past the biopic benchmark held by Oppenheimer.

The commercial run has also sharpened the debate around how Hollywood packages disputed real-life figures. Critics said the film ends before the child-molestation allegations that later shadowed Jackson’s career, a narrative choice that made the project look more like a tribute than a reckoning. That criticism grew alongside reports that the production spent $10 million or more on reshoots after scrapping an original ending that included the abuse allegations.

Jackson’s death in 2009 did not dim audience interest, and the movie’s performance suggests his global fan base remains large enough to overpower the damage of negative reviews. The Jackson family publicly defended the film and praised its audience response, standing behind a release that has generated both record revenue and renewed argument over nostalgia, reputation, and what studios are willing to soften when a famous name can still sell tickets around the world.