Jaafar Jackson and KeiLyn Durrel Jones in "Michael."
Lionsgate/Glen Wilson
The Michael Jackson biopic Michael is projected to earn far more than pre-release projections at the weekend box office.
Michael, which stars Jaafar Jackson (Michael Jackson’s nephew/Jermaine Jackson’s son) in the title role, officially opened in North American theaters on Friday after special Wednesday night fan screenings and Thursday previews. Through Sunday, both Deadline and Variety project the film to earn $97 million domestically, if not more.
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The projected bow for Michael shatters the previous record for the biggest opening weekend for a music biopic, which was held by Straight Outta Compton. The NWA biopic earned $60.2 million in its opening three-day frame in 2015.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Michael covers the King of Pop’s life from his time as a 10-year-old singer (Juliano Valde) with his brothers in The Jackson 5 through his adult career as a solo artist, releasing the multiplatinum albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad.
The film wraps up in 1988, and the title card after the closing scene reads, “His Story Continues,” which is essentially a declaration to fans that there is more of Jackson’s story to be told in a possible sequel.
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Of course, Michael, which cost nearly $200 million to produce (via Variety) before marketing costs, has to become a blockbuster hit first for the film’s studio, Lionsgate, to produce a sequel. As such, if the projections for its opening weekend by Deadline and Variety are any indication, Michael is taking a big first step toward its aspirations to make a sequel a reality.
Earlier in the week, Deadline and Variety each forecast a $65 million to $70 million opening weekend. Should the trade publications’ new projection hold, it falls in line with Box Office Pro’s forecast, which pegged an $85 million to $90 million opening.
Michael opened in 3,955 North American locations on Friday, including 1,700 IMAX and premium large format venues.
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Internationally, Michael had a stellar opening, as Deadline projects the film will earn $120.4 million from 82 markets. Combined with the domestic opening numbers for the film, Michael is projected by the trade to earn more than $217 million worldwide.
Judah Edwards, Jalen Hunter, Juliano Valde, Nathaniel McIntyre and Jayden Harville in "Michael."
Lionsgate/Glen Wilson
Lionsgate announced in an email Friday that Michael earned $3.8 million at fan screenings Wednesday night before playing in previews Thursday night, which resulted in a two-day domestic total of $12.6 million.
Folding in the early access tally, Deadline projects that Michael will earn anywhere from $35 million to $40 million on Friday.
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Rated PG-13, Michael also stars Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Laura Harrier and Miles Teller.
Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend with the most current numbers for “Michael” as they become available. The final figures for the weekend box office will be released on Monday.
Forbes‘Michael’ Rotten Tomatoes Reviews Splatter Michael Jackson BiopicBy Tim Lammers此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。