Box Office: ‘Michael’ Michael Jackson Biopic Sees $12.6M+ Previews
FRIDAY AM, AFTER EXCLUSIVE: The previews for Lionsgate‘s Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, from Antoine Fuqua came in at $12.6M. Of that amount, $3.8M came from the fan Imax/PLF Wednesday night screenings.
Early PostTrak from Screen Engine and Comscore last night shows 5 stars, 88% positive and a massive 81% definite recommend, which Lionsgate can take to the bank. That’s the big stat that indicates legs. Families repped 36% last night, couples (married and non-married) repped 31% with diversity demos showing Black moviegoers leading at 36%, with Latino/Hispanic and Caucasian tied at 25% apiece, and 8% Asian American. Female leaning at 56%. Young crowd: 58% were under 35 with the 18-34 bunch at 55%. Fifty percent said they came because they’re MJ fans (subject matter/plot).
Rotten Tomatoes audience score is still strong at 96%, but CinemaScore polled the preview audience on Wednesday and Michael received an A- (same grade as musical biopics Elvis and Rocketman, but half grade under Graham King’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Straight Outta Compton and Bob Marley: One Love which all nabbed As). Normally CinemaScore polls the Friday night opening crowd and posts the results from that tonight. The cinema pollster is apparently doing another update.
We’ll have more updates for you later. Michael is booked at 3,955 locations, including 1,700 Imax and premium large format auditorums.
The rest of the week went down like this:
- Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Uni) 4,284 theaters, Wk $45M (-46%), Total $365.3M/Wk 3
- Project Hail Mary (AMZ) 3,820 theaters, Wk $27.5M (-15%), Total $292.2M/Wk 5
- Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (NL) 3,304 theaters, Wk $17.8M/Wk 1
- The Drama (A24) 2,629 theaters, Wk $7.1M (-44%), Total $41.9M/Wk 3
- You, Me & Tuscany (Uni) 3,157 theaters Wk $5.5M (-48%), Total $16.1M/Wk 2
EXCLUSIVE: The walk-up business for Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, is doing significantly more than just easing down the road.
Earlier tonight we heard they were at $10M, then $11M, now the combined previews from yesterday’s Imax/PLF fan 6PM showtimes plus today’s showtimes which began today at 12noon are between $12.5M-$13.5M per sources. That’s easily the best ever for a musical biopic (Straight Outta Compton‘s preview cash was $4.96M, which translated into a $60.2M record start for the subgenre).
We told you earlier today that we heard presales for the Antonie Fuqua directed, Graham King produced, John Logan written movie were exceeding that of Project Hail Mary. And here we are with Michael showing better moves than Ryan Gosling and alien Rocky. That pic made $12M in combined previews which led to an $80.5M opening.
But there’s more: Michael‘s previews bury those of John Wick: Chapter 4 ($8.9M) which was the biggest opening for Lionsgate post Covid, debuting to $73.8M. Arguably, Michael‘s preview cash is the best for Lionsgate since 2015’s The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 ($16M).
There’s a slew of other previews which Michael is beating, i.e. Dune: Part Two ($12M), Toy Story 4 ($12M), A Minecraft Movie ($10.55M) and Oppenheimer ($10.5M) to name a few.
A great sign for business: Michael is 96% with Rotten Tomatoes audiences, burying its 40% critical score (film reviewers have clutched their pearls as Michael doesn’t delve into the accusations leveled against the King of Pop). However, if you’re a smart moviegoer, you’ll notice the groundwork which Fuqua is laying for part two.
We told you yesterday that the first day plus previews for Michael abroad via Universal was $18.5M; the pic is breaking records for a musical biopic on day one.
