The global box office records just keep on coming for MICHAEL. This time around, Antoine Fuqua has the individual honors, as the veteran director has officially broken into the top three tier of the highest-grossing films directed by a Black director in cinema history. Fuqua’s latest project has officially overtaken the third-place position, beating Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which grossed $859 million at the box office, and previously ranked third among all Black‑directed films worldwide.

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The current numbers for this weekend are still being calculated, but officially surpassing Bohemian Rhapsody’s global $911 million box office total now has MICHAEL trending towards the $1 billion mark. The updated baseline standing of the top three highest-grossing films directed by a Black filmmaker is as follows:

• Black Panther (2018) — Directed by Ryan Coogler ($1.35 Billion USD): Coogler’s cultural phenomenon and Marvel Studios masterpiece continues to reign undisputed as the absolute highest-grossing film ever directed by a Black filmmaker, setting a permanent benchmark for global industry performance.
• The Fate of the Furious (2017) — Directed by F. Gary Gray ($1.24 Billion USD): Delivering an absolute global powerhouse for Universal Pictures, F. Gary Gray’s high-octane franchise entry remains a massive blockbuster triumph and the single highest-earning non-superhero film helmed by a Black director.
• Michael (2026) — Directed by Antoine Fuqua: Pushed forward by massive international opening frames, Fuqua’s definitive musical biopic tracking the life and legacy of Michael Jackson has claimed the definitive third spot, surpassing Ryan Coogler’s previous third-place standing with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ($859 Million USD).

During an exclusive interview with Decked Out, Fuqua told us, “I definitely drew from my music video days going into this because I understood the language and the performances you’ve got to do to capture the music videos. Michael always said, and he got this from Fred Astaire…Michael makes such passionate expressions, and there are so many details about how he moves, that you have to capture that, and it has to be cinematic.”

He continued, ““I would use special lenses to get down by the socks, and certain lights—or I would get details of the hat…you know how at Motown 25 when he spins the hat? That comes from my music video days, but the interesting thing about that is that you don’t want the music video thing to get in the way. One of the things we learned from those days is to get out of the way. Capture all of it, but get out of your own way, and at the end of that, people want to see Michael Jackson’s moves. I can’t have it be too choppy where you missed the Moonwalk.”

What’s Next?

Photo: Lionsgate

According to film reporter Luiz Fernando, opening weekend in Japan has started off strong, with the film surpassing the $5 million mark on Friday and Saturday (at the time of this writing) thanks to incredible word of mouth. Additionally, as FlixPatrol, the movie was the #1 film on both the Apple TV store and Amazon Prime Video earlier this week. Fans can now purchase or rent MICHAEL through major premium video-on-demand platforms, including digital storefronts such as Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home. 

From there, Lionsgate will follow up the streaming debut with a premium physical rollout on July 14 (according to the Blu Ray website), introducing an array of Collector’s Edition 4K UHD Steelbooks at retail giants like Walmart and Amazon.

MICHAEL  is currently projected to hit the $1 billion mark.

Featured Photo: Lionsgate

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