And guess what? 😂
Overseas actuals higher for KING OF POP #MichaelJackson aka our BILLIE JEAN, as music biopic #MICHAEL is now 1.5M away from beating #TheSuperMarioGalaxyMovie as highest grossing film of 2026 at Global #BoxOffice!
After its 13th weekend, the biopic hits est 637.9M intl. cume overseas over 85 markets, thanks to #Japan & #Russia offsetting the #WorldCup & digital release effects in other markets.
Allied to its 372.2M cume in the U.S., the biopic with a 200M production price tag not including marketing hits a 1.01B global cume, thanks to #Russia & #Japan .
Now it’s going after #TheSuperMarioGalaxyMovie’s 1.01B (or exactly 1.011.5B) for the title of highest grossing film of the year globally, which will happen this week!
Eyeing a 1.02B-1.05B run.
Jaafar Jackson has won Best Actor at the 2026 Astra Midseason Movie Awards for his portrayal of Michael Jackson in the biopic Michael, beating a field that included Ryan Gosling, Ralph Fiennes, and Robert Pattinson.
For an actor with no prior professional experience carrying the weight of portraying his own family's legacy on screen, a Best Actor win in his first leading role places him among a very small group of performers who have achieved this level of recognition straight out of the gate.
This marks a defining milestone for the 29 year old, whose only screen credit before this role was a brief appearance on a 2015 reality series. He never submitted a traditional audition. Instead, he sent producer Graham King a voice note of himself speaking in character as his uncle, and that single recording is what convinced the production to cast him.
What followed was years of intensive preparation, vocal training, choreography, and physical transformation, all in service of portraying one of the most globally recognized and closely studied entertainers in history.
Michael Jackson's own mother, Katherine Jackson, personally approved the casting after watching him work, saying he embodies her son.
Director Antoine Fuqua has described Jaafar's performance as going beyond imitation, capturing the emotional spirit of the character rather than simply recreating his mannerisms on the surface.
The recognition arrives as the film continues its record-breaking global run, having crossed the billion dollar mark to become the highest-grossing music biopic and highest-grossing biographical film in cinema history.
As the film continues its run, all eyes remain on what comes next for Jaafar Jackson.
MICHAEL keeps showing impressive strength overseas, having now passed Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT ($1.01bn worldwide).
It’s on track for a $1.05bn global total.
🏆 Jaafar Jackson has been nominated for Favorite Movie Actor at the World Choice Awards 2026
🚨 The voting is NOW OPEN and it's open to the PUBLIC – which means WE can help him win!
🔥 VOTE NOW AT: https://t.co/1bb68Si5xh
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL INVOLVED! @jaafarjackson, @gkfilms@lionsgate The #MichaelMovie has officially crossed $1 billion at the global box office, the first and only biographical film to ever do so.🍿
A massive thank you to all the #mjfans, we couldn’t have done it without you!😘
Beautiful teaser announcement released by #Lionsgate celebrating KING OF POP #MichaelJackson’s music biopic #MICHAEL becoming ONLY Biopic in HIStory to cross the 1B+ mark this SUN.
Respect the BILLIE JEAN!
That’s also first film ever produced by Lionsgate to reach the 1B mark!
SHAMONE! It’s DONE ✅
From now onwards, refer to KING OF POP #MichaelJackson as BILLIE JEAN, as music biopic #MICHAEL officially becomes ONLY biopic in HIStory to hit 1B mark at Global #BoxOffice!
After its 12th weekend, the biopic hits est 629.3M intl. cume overseas over 85 markets, thanks to #Japan & #Russia offsetting the #WorldCup & digital release effects in other markets.
Allied to its 371.8M cume in the U.S., the biopic with a 200M production price tag not including marketing hits a 1B global cume, thanks to #Russia & #Japan.
Eyeing a 1.02B-1.05B run.
MICHAEL has crossed the $1 BILLION mark at the global box office.
It’s the first biopic in history to hit that milestone, making @Lionsgate the first independent studio to own a $1 BILLION film.
Age of each of these countries:
USA: 250 years
Netherlands: 445 years
Sweden: 503 years
Spain: 547 years
Monaco: 729 years
Switzerland: 735 years
Thailand: 788 years
Mongolia: 820 years
Portugal: 883 years
Hungary: 1,026 years
Poland: 1,060 years
Denmark: 1,061 years
England: 1,099 years
Norway: 1,154 years
Russia: 1,164 years
France: 1,183 years
Morocco: 1,238 years
Bulgaria: 1,345 years
China: 2,246 years
Iran: 2,575 years
Japan: 2,685 years
Ethiopia: 3,000 years
Egypt: 5,125 years