{"id":604580,"date":"2026-07-26T06:07:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T06:07:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/604580\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T06:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T06:07:42","slug":"michael-says-goodbye-to-north-america-on-top-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/604580\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;MICHAEL&#8217; Says Goodbye to North America\u2026 on Top of the World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"66\" data-end=\"212\">After an unforgettable 91-day run in North American cinemas, Michael has officially taken its final bow and what a historic journey it has been.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"214\" data-end=\"563\">The Michael Jackson biopic, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson in his acting debut as his legendary uncle, closed its domestic theatrical run on Thursday with a final <strong data-start=\"400\" data-end=\"411\">$20,000<\/strong> from 165 theatres. While the final day\u2019s earnings were modest, they marked the end of one of the most extraordinary box office stories in recent years.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"565\" data-end=\"774\">The film finishes its North American run with an impressive <strong data-start=\"625\" data-end=\"643\">$372.3 million<\/strong>, making it not only <strong data-start=\"664\" data-end=\"713\">Lionsgate\u2019s highest-grossing film of all time<\/strong>, but also the <strong data-start=\"728\" data-end=\"773\">highest-grossing biopic in cinema history<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"776\" data-end=\"1075\">Its journey began on <strong data-start=\"797\" data-end=\"809\">24 April<\/strong>, opening to a phenomenal <strong data-start=\"835\" data-end=\"850\">$97 million<\/strong> domestic debut before dominating the box office for weeks. Even after newer releases arrived, Michael continued to attract audiences, proving that the King of Pop\u2019s story still resonates with moviegoers across generations.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1077\" data-end=\"1150\">Of course, the biggest headlines came from the records that kept falling.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1152\" data-end=\"1544\">Michael became the <strong data-start=\"1173\" data-end=\"1244\">first biographical film ever to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide<\/strong>, overtaking Christopher Nolan\u2019s Oppenheimer to become the highest-grossing biopic of all time. It also surpassed Bohemian Rhapsody as the biggest musical biopic ever released and recently climbed above The Super Mario Galaxy Movie to become <strong data-start=\"1492\" data-end=\"1543\">the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1546\" data-end=\"1878\">Its worldwide total now stands at an incredible <strong data-start=\"1594\" data-end=\"1612\">$1.012 billion<\/strong>, including <strong data-start=\"1624\" data-end=\"1669\">$640.2 million from international markets<\/strong>, where audiences embraced the film in spectacular fashion. Countries such as Japan, where Michael Jackson\u2019s popularity has remained immense for decades, played a significant role in the film\u2019s global success.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1880\" data-end=\"2202\">The achievement is even more remarkable considering the challenges the production faced before reaching cinemas. Delays, script rewrites and endless speculation surrounded the project, while critics remained divided following its release. Yet audiences delivered the verdict that ultimately matters most at the box office.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2204\" data-end=\"2473\">Director Antoine Fuqua reflected on the film\u2019s billion-dollar milestone by calling it a humbling achievement and praising the dedication of the cast, crew, producers and partners who shared the vision of honouring \u201cone of the greatest artists the world has ever known.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2475\" data-end=\"2735\">Jaafar Jackson\u2019s performance was one of the film\u2019s biggest talking points. Making his acting debut while portraying his own uncle brought an emotional authenticity to the production, supported by Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson and Nia Long as Katherine Jackson.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2737\" data-end=\"3111\">With the North American chapter now complete, the film will continue playing in a handful of international territories before eventually making its way to home audiences. Meanwhile, Lionsgate has already hinted that conversations about future Michael Jackson projects are underway, suggesting this may not be the last time fans see the King of Pop\u2019s story on the big screen.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3113\" data-end=\"3283\">For a film that faced years of obstacles before release, Michael has achieved something few thought possible. It didn\u2019t simply become a hit, it rewrote the record books.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3285\" data-end=\"3417\">More importantly, it reminded the world that Michael Jackson\u2019s music, artistry and cultural impact remain as powerful today as ever.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"3419\" data-end=\"3540\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">As the curtain falls on its North American run, one thing is certain: <strong data-start=\"3489\" data-end=\"3540\" data-is-last-node=\"\">the King of Pop still reigns at the box office.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After an unforgettable 91-day run in North American cinemas, Michael has officially taken its final bow and what&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[264],"tags":[57711,18,117,19,17,25129,164614,164615,337],"class_list":["post-604580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-biopic","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-michael-jackson","tag-michael-jackson-news","tag-mj-news","tag-music"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116984784192815074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}