• by Wayne Friedman , 8 hours ago

Lionsgate’s biographical film chronicling Michael Jackson's life shook up the theatrical movie business with a surprising $97 million opening weekend in late April, per ComScore.

The film earned a record total for a biographical film, despite its low 38% rating, per Rotten Tomatoes' critics measure, and modest ad spend.
Consumer sentiment per Rotten Tomatoes' measure was a strong 97%. 

On the flip side, strong word-of-mouth social-media messaging content represented a massive platform for the movie.

CinemaScore’s consumer opening night measure gave the movie an A- rating.

“Michael” earned $120.4 million internationally and totaled $217.4 million globally -- the highest to date for the domestic launch of a biographical film, surpassing Universal's “Oppenheimer” ($80 million) in 2023.

TV advertising campaigns for “Michael" focused on college basketball, NBA basketball, ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” “Big Bang Theory” and NBC’s “Today” show.

In second and third place for the late April weekend were two strong films that were previously released: Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” (at $21.2 million) and Amazon MGM’s “Project Hail Mary” (at $13.2 million).

Those movies earned a domestic total of $386.5 million and $305.4 million, respectively.

National TV ad spend for “Super Mario” is now at an estimated $29.7 million, per iSpot.tv, with “Project Hail Mary” at $17.7 million.