Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic pulled in between $12.5 million and $13.5 million in combined preview earnings on Thursday, making it the highest-grossing opening preview in the musical biopic genre by a wide margin.
The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan, and produced by Graham King, began IMAX and premium large format screenings on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. before expanding to regular showtimes starting Thursday at noon. Early tracking had the film at $10 million, then $11 million, before landing in the $12.5-to-$13.5 million range, according to Deadline.
For context, Straight Outta Compton held the previous record for musical biopic previews at $4.96 million, a haul that translated into a $60.2 million opening weekend. Michael's preview take also beat Dune: Part Two ($12 million), Toy Story 4 ($12 million), A Minecraft Movie ($10.55 million), and Oppenheimer ($10.5 million). Within the Lionsgate catalog specifically, it's the studio's biggest preview performance since The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 brought in $16 million in 2015.
The film also broke records internationally. Through Universal, Michael earned $18.5 million in its first day abroad, which Deadline reported as a record for a musical biopic in a single day overseas.
Audience response has been enthusiastic despite a sharp divide with critics. The film carries a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes against a 40% critical score. Reviewers have largely taken issue with the film's decision not to address the sexual abuse allegations against Jackson. Fuqua, for his part, appears to have structured the film as the first installment of a two-part story, with Deadline noting that attentive viewers would spot groundwork being laid for a sequel.
Pre-sale momentum had already signaled a strong opening. Earlier Thursday, sources told Deadline that advance ticket sales were outpacing those for Project Hail Mary, Ryan Gosling's sci-fi film that earned $12 million in previews on its way to an $80.5 million debut.
With preview numbers landing where they did, projections for the opening weekend have already shifted upward. One commenter who saw the film Wednesday called it "a crowdpleaser" and predicted a $90-million-plus opening.
