Mixed Emotions on 'Michael' (Possibly) Crossing $1 Billion

It'll be nice to have a new non-Disney member, one that'll (again) debunk conventional wisdom about what kinds of films play biggest overseas. But notching ten digits shouldn't be the bar for success.

For reasons that verge on happenstance, Japan is often the last major marketplace for many a global tentpole release. However, it’s rarely in a position to play the role of game-changer or kingmaker. And that’s somewhat true here as well, as it’s not like Michael needs a best-case-scenario performance in Japan to cement its status as a top-tier worldwide blockbuster. The Jafar Jackson-starring King of Pop biopic will cross $360 million in North America either today or tomorrow, with a current $912 million-and-counting worldwide cume (mostly courtesy of Universal, which is distributing in most international markets) just pushed it past Bohemian Rhapsody’s $911 million unadjusted global lifetime totals.

The only question concerning Japan, where it opened with $2.3 million on Friday, is whether it hits hard enough there to push the picture past $1 billion worldwide. I frankly hope it does not. Not because I care that the film wasn’t terribly well-reviewed or that it’s a weird example of an expensive would-be tentpole being forced to be more conventionally commercial by matter of legal decree or any other reason specific to the film of the filmmakers. No, I just think the industry and the media culture surrounding it can only benefit from more movies that can be considered sky-high success stories without crossing the once-fabled, now-expected $1 billion global benchmark.