A movie ticket turned into a streaming boom. Michael Jackson’s solo songs pulled 47.9 million official on-demand streams in the U.S. over the opening weekend of Michael, April 24–26, up 116% from the same Friday-to-Sunday a week earlier, Billboard reports, citing early Luminate data. That puts the late pop star on pace for his biggest streaming week ever.
The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, opened to $97 million in North America and $218.8 million worldwide, the highest opening numbers ever for a biopic, per Billboard. The Jackson 5’s catalog gained 89% over the weekend, to 3.4 million streams, and The Jacksons’ rose 104%, to 1.8 million.
The numbers
Jackson was already hot. He set personal bests in the two weeks before the release, with 50.6 million streams for April 10–16 and 55.3 million for April 17–23, Billboard says, topping his previous record of 54.4 million set around Halloween 2025 on the strength of the annual “Thriller” resurgence.
Read moreDrake’s HABIBTI (FOMO) Is Tracking for No. 2 as Coachella 2027 Talk Builds
“Billie Jean” led the weekend with 4 million streams, ahead of “Beat It” (2.9 million), “Rock With You” (2.4 million), “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” (2.3 million) and “Smooth Criminal” (1.9 million). Among Jackson 5 songs, “I Want You Back” topped the list with 994,000.
What the film is, and isn’t
Michael covers 1966 to 1988, from the Jackson 5’s childhood stardom to his solo breakthrough, and Billboard describes it as the first installment of a two-part story. Its critic called it “a bountiful, generational musical feast,” praising Jaafar Jackson’s recreation of the “Beat It” dance and the Motown 25 “Billie Jean” performance, and Colman Domingo’s portrait of Joe Jackson. He also noted the absence of Janet Jackson and wished for more context.
Rolling Stone, in a piece on why the film took years to arrive, noted that it ends in 1988 and that, as David Fear’s review pointed out, it includes no mention of the sexual abuse allegations Jackson faced in the years that followed. Billboard notes that he was acquitted on sex abuse charges in 2005.
Why it matters
Jackson died in 2009, and his catalog has kept earning. Complex counts him as the only artist with Hot 100 top-10 hits in six different decades, and the first to enter the chart at No. 1, a path now routine for stars like Drake, Taylor Swift, Travis Scott and BTS. The movie sent a new audience to the source, and “Billie Jean,” typically his most-streamed song in any given week, was the first stop.
Michael: Songs From The Motion PictureMichael JacksonListen on Apple Music
- Opening weekend
- 47.9 million U.S. solo streams, up 116%
- Box office
- $97 million North America, $218.8 million worldwide
- Previous best week
- 55.3 million streams, April 17–23
- Film
- *Michael*, directed by Antoine Fuqua, opened April 24
Added to the High Grailed archive on October 12, 2026.
