Michael nears $1 billion milestone at the box office

Michael has officially surpassed the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody to claim the title as the highest-grossing music biopic in history.

The film about Michael Jackson is nearing a box office milestone of $1 billion (£743 million) after adding another $38 million (£28.3 million) globally in its eighth weekend of release.

The musical biopic starring Jaafar Jackson has generated $932.2 million (£693 million) worldwide to date. Should ticket sales keep climbing and surpass $975 million (£725 million), Michael will overtake Oppenheimer as the highest-grossing biopic of all time.

Michael, which portrays Jackson's early years with his brothers in the Jackson 5 up until his 1988 Bad tour, has been a blockbuster success despite negative reviews from critics and blowback over the film's failure to address the child sexual abuse allegations that marred his later years.

Filmmakers claimed they were legally barred from portraying the allegations brought against Jackson by accuser Jordan Chandler. The entire third act was reshot as a result, and the biopic's release was pushed back by nearly a year.

In happier news for the Jackson estate, the film has triggered a surge of interest in Jackson's back catalogue, sending Thriller back up to Number Seven on the Billboard 200.

The blockbuster biopic has also dramatically boosted the estate's coffers by propelling the music made by the Jackson 5 (later the Jacksons) throughout the 1960s, '70s and '80s to record-setting heights.

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