“Who’s Bad?” Lionsgate’s Michael movie.
The Michael Jackson biopic opened in first place this weekend after shattering expectations, silencing critics, and dancing away with an estimated $97 million at the domestic box office, tracking company Comscore reported Sunday.
Analysts had projected the music-filled film would open in the $60-million range. Instead, it smashed predictions and moonwalked to the title of biggest domestic debut ever for a biopic.
“Michael thrilled audiences and theater owners alike as it outpaced even the most aggressive opening weekend projections,” Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, told Urban Hollywood 411 on Sunday.
The biopic raked in another $120.4 million abroad, bringing its global total to $217.4 million, scoring Marvel-like numbers.
Related: Kat Graham Breaks Silence on Diana Ross Role Getting Cut From ‘Michael’
The biopic centers on the late King of Pop’s life “from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world.”
Jaafar Jackson, son of Jermaine Jackson, plays his uncle Michael in the film. Colman Domingo delivers a powerhouse (and award-worthy) performance as abusive family patriarch Joe Jackson. Nia Long portrays Michael’s long-suffering mother, Katherine Jackson.
The cast also includes Kendrick Sampson as producer Quincy Jones and Miles Teller as Jackson’s business manager John Branca. Larenz Tate plays Motown founder Berry Gordy, Laura Harrier portrays music executive Suzanne de Passe, and child actor Juliano Valdi plays young Michael.
Kat Graham was cast as Diana Ross. But as questions arose as to what happened to the Diana role, the actress released a statement last week, saying her performance was cut from the movie due to “legal considerations.”
Critics were not thrilled with the film and gave it a disappointing 38% score on Rotten Tomatoes, saying the biopic played like a “greatest hits” album, but skipped the true story of Michael Jackson’s “complicated legacy.”
The singer-songwriter’s fans brushed off negative reviews and literally danced into theaters. Moviegoers gave the film a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an “A-” CinemaScore in exit polling.
“Michael was indeed critic-proof and by staying away from the more controversial elements of Jackson’s life, the film delivered exactly what fans of the iconic popstar around the globe were looking for in a big screen adaptation of his storied life,” Dergarabedian told us.
The authorized biopic was produced by Graham King (Bohemian Rhapsody), along with John Branca and John McClain, co-executors of the Michael Jackson estate. Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) directed the film from a script written by John Logan (The Aviator).
The biopic had been expected to hit theaters last year, but was delayed when the filmmakers reworked the last part of the movie to remove allegations of child molestation that followed Jackson before his death in 2009.
Those reshoots helped push the film’s production budget to a reported $200 million, but were required because of language in a legal settlement with one of Jackson’s accusers.
Lionsgate spent tens of millions more on marketing — with red carpet premieres in Berlin, Germany; Los Angeles, California; and Jackson’s hometown of Gary, Indiana.
That added up to a massive travel and grooming budget for the cast and filmmakers to promote the movie. There were also flash mobs of professional dancers in the streets of New York City and Hollywood, and drone flyovers in L.A.
While the movie made back its budget in one weekend, it needs to sell many more tickets to turn a profit.
Elsewhere at the box office this weekend, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie slipped to second place $21.2 million, after spending three weeks in the top spot, Comscore reported. Project Hail Mary came in third place with $13.2 million, in its sixth weekend in theaters.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy was fourth with $5.6 million in its second weekend, and The Drama rounded out the top five with $2.6 million in its fourth week.
Star-studded The Devil Wears Prada 2 opens next weekend and is expected to have a dance-off with Michael for the top spot.
Watch our coverage of the film’s fashionable LA premiere below:
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