‘Michael’ Becomes the Second Music Biopic to Pass $500 Million Worldwide as Billboard Ranks the Top Grossers

Michael has crossed $577.4 million worldwide in just three weeks, making it the No. 2 music biopic ever at the global box office, according to BoxOfficeMojo.

The Michael Jackson film, which premiered at Lionsgate’s Los Angeles event at Dolby Theatre on April 20, 2026, now sits behind only Bohemian Rhapsody on Billboard’s ranking of the highest-grossing music biopics worldwide. That Queen film finished with $910.8 million, leaving Michael $333.4 million short of the top spot for now.

International audiences have powered most of the total so far. Box Office Mojo says overseas sales account for 58.3% of the film’s box office, while the U.S. and Canada make up the remaining 41.7%.

The film added $152.6 million in the past week alone. Whether that pace holds is the question now.

Graham King, who co-produced Michael with longtime Jackson associates John Branca and John McClain, also worked on Bohemian Rhapsody and Jersey Boys, another entry on Billboard’s list.

The ranking focuses on biopics about music stars, spanning rap, classical, country, Latin and contemporary Christian. Films centered on other music-adjacent figures were left out, including The Sound of Music, Green Book, Florence Foster Jenkins and Music of the Heart.

Below are the 25 highest-grossing music biopics worldwide.

The 25 highest-grossing music biopics worldwide

Selena (1997)

Worldwide gross: $35.8 million
Director: Gregory Nava
Music: Dave Grusin

Jennifer Lopez starred as Tejano singer Selena, whose rise took her from cult appeal to the Houston Astrodome before her murder at 23 by former fan club president Yolanda Saldívar. The soundtrack reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200.

Shine (1996)

Worldwide gross: $36 million
Director: Scott Hicks
Music: David Hirschfelder

Geoffrey Rush won best actor for playing pianist David Helfgott, who spent years in institutions after a mental breakdown. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture. The soundtrack reached No. 59 on the Billboard 200.

Funny Lady (1975)

Worldwide gross: $39 million
Director: Herbert Ross
Music: John Kander, Fred Ebb, Peter Matz

The sequel to Funny Girl brought Barbra Streisand back as Fanny Brice, with James Caan as Billy Rose. It produced the Oscar-nominated song “How Lucky Can You Get.” The soundtrack reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993)

Image Credit: D. Stevens / ©Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

Worldwide gross: $39.1 million
Director: Brian Gibson
Music: Stanley Clarke

Angela Bassett earned an Oscar nomination for playing Tina Turner, while Laurence Fishburne was nominated for playing Ike Turner. The title came from Turner’s 1984 No. 1 hit, which won Grammys for record and song of the year. The soundtrack reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200 and produced the top 10 Hot 100 hit “I Don’t Wanna Fight.”

Notorious (2009)

Worldwide gross: $44.4 million
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Music: Danny Elfman

Jamal Woolard played Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G., in a film about the rapper’s rapid rise and his shooting death at 24 in 1997. Angela Bassett, Derek Luke and Anthony Mackie also appeared. The soundtrack reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)

Worldwide gross: $45.2 million
Director: Scott Cooper
Music: Jeremiah Fraites

Jeremy Allen White stars as Bruce Springsteen in a film about the period after The River, when Springsteen made the stripped-down Nebraska. Written and directed by Scott Cooper, it is based on Warren Zanes’ 2023 book Deliver Me from Nowhere and includes some material from Springsteen’s 2016 autobiography Born to Run. Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham and Odessa Young also star. The film drew mixed reviews, though White and Strong were praised. Fraites, co-founder of The Lumineers, supervised the music. He was born and raised in New Jersey, like Springsteen.

Judy (2019)

Worldwide gross: $46 million
Director: Rupert Goold
Music: Gabriel Yared

Renée Zellweger won best actress for playing Judy Garland in a film built around the final year of her life, when she arrived in London in winter 1968 for a string of sold-out concerts. Garland never won a competitive Oscar despite two nominations, including in the same category where Zellweger won. Zellweger was also nominated for a Grammy for the soundtrack, in the best traditional pop vocal album category.

Funny Girl (1968)

Worldwide gross: $52.2 million
Director: William Wyler
Music: Jule Styne, Bob Merrill

Barbra Streisand made her film debut as Fanny Brice and won best actress in a tie with Katharine Hepburn, still the only tie in the category. The film earned eight Oscar nominations, including best picture and best original song for “Funny Girl.” The soundtrack reached No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for more than two years.

Amadeus (1984)

Worldwide gross: $52.3 million
Director: Miloš Forman

Tom Hulce was nominated for playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but the Oscar went to F. Murray Abraham for the more flamboyant role of Antonio Salieri. The film received 11 Oscar nominations and won eight, including best picture and best director for Forman. Peter Shaffer won best adapted screenplay for the stage play version. The double-disc soundtrack, credited to conductor and arranger Neville Marriner, reached No. 56 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for best classical album.

La Bamba

Worldwide gross: $54.2 million
Director: Luis Valdez
Music: Carlos Santana, Miles Goodman

Lou Diamond Phillips portrayed Ritchie Valens, who died at 17 in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper. The title came from the Mexican folk song Valens turned into a rock and roll hit in 1958. His version reached No. 22 on the Hot 100 in 1959. “Donna,” which peaked at No. 2, was actually his bigger hit. The Los Lobos soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks, and the band’s version of “La Bamba” spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 while also drawing Grammy nominations for record and song of the year.

All Eyez on Me (2017)

Worldwide gross: $55.7 million
Director: Benny Boom
Music: John Paesano

Demetrius Shipp Jr. played Tupac Shakur, with Jamal Woolard returning as Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace from Notorious. Shipp’s father worked on 2Pac music videos. Shakur was shot to death in 1996 at 25. The title came from his 1996 double album, his second to top the Billboard 200.

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (2022)

Worldwide gross: $59.8 million
Director: Kasi Lemmons
Music: Chanda Dancy

Naomi Ackie starred as Whitney Houston in a film released 10 years after her death. Stanley Tucci played Clive Davis, who signed Houston to Arista Records in 1983 when she was 19. The title references Houston’s 1987 single, later named to Billboard’s 2023 list of The 500 Best Pop Songs: Staff List.

Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)

Worldwide gross: $67.2 million
Director: Michael Apted
Music: Owen Bradley

Sissy Spacek won best actress for playing Loretta Lynn. The film earned seven Oscar nominations, including best picture, and included Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D’Angelo and Levon Helm in supporting roles. Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl appeared as themselves. It was based on George Vecsey’s 1976 biography of Lynn. The title came from Lynn’s signature hit, which reached No. 1 on Hot Country Singles in December 1970. The soundtrack reached No. 40 on the Billboard 200.

Jersey Boys (2014)

Worldwide gross: $67.6 million
Director: Clint Eastwood
Music: Bob Gaudio

Eastwood directed and co-produced the film version of the Broadway hit about The Four Seasons, starring John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Erich Bergen as Bob Gaudio, Michael Lomenda as Nick Massi and Vincent Piazza as Tommy DeVito. The stage musical won four Tonys, including best musical and best actor in a musical for Young, but the movie got no Oscar nominations. Valli and Gaudio served as executive producers. The soundtrack reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200.

I Can Only Imagine (2018)

Worldwide gross: $86.1 million
Directors: Andrew & Jon Erwin
Music: Brent McCorkle

Michael Finley starred as Bart Millard, lead singer of the contemporary Christian band MercyMe. The film centers on the title song, written by Millard about his relationship with his father, played by Dennis Quaid.