In a moonwalk for the box office history books, Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic returned to No. 1 in its fourth outing with a dreamy $26.3 million, more than enough to wrest the crown from The Devil Wears Prada 2 and top the North American and global weekend charts after reclaiming Imax and other premium screens. Moreover, it became only the second film of 2026 so far to clear the $700 million mark in worldwide ticket sales behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
Michael, from Lionsgate and producer Graham King, benefited from the inability of video game adaptation Mortal Kombat II to turn into a crowd-pleaser and expand beyond its core fanbase. After a disappointing domestic opening, it tumbled a steep 67 percent in its second weekend to $13.4 million for a tepid 10-day North American total of $62.2 million and a fourth-place finish.
Conversely, Michael finished Sunday with an estimated domestic total of $242.8 million and $703.9 million globally after enjoying an extraordinary hold, and one week after overtaking the entire lifetime run of Bohemian Rhapsody to become the top-grossing music biopic of all time in North America, not adjusted for inflation. Lionsgate tapped Universal to handle the movie overseas, where the film’s estimated international cume through Sunday is $421.1 million.
Mortal Kombat II had already been set to share some Imax showtimes with the 40th-anniversary celebration of Tom Cruise’s Top Gun franchise that included screenings of both the first film and the more recent Top Gun: Maverick, but normally would have remained a top priority for two weekends. But Michael’s continued popularity presented an opportunity, alongside one of Cruise’s signature franchises, to fill seats.
The Top Gun double-billing, which also played in other premium large-format theaters, grossed $3.1 million in North America and $6.8 million for an impressive total of nearly $12 million; Imax ponied up more than $3 million.
Michael and Imax have also made for good partners. Imax’s contribution to the film’s earnings this weekend amounted to $5.2 million, bringing its total contributions to more than $60 million globally. CEO Rich Gelfond has been a master at branding the company, although there are plenty of other PLFs, such as Dolby Cinema. And the major circuits around the world have come up with their own-supersized systems, considering it can cost $25 in a cities such as Los Angeles and New York to see a film in a premium format.
Despite the upcharge, PLF auditoriums generally sell first, despite consumer confusion as to the differences between the offerings. Disney hopes to change that when launching a new certification program timed to Avengers: Endgame that will indicate to consumers if a certain PLF is really a PLF at all. The impetus? It gives the studio — or any Hollywood studio — more flexibility in dating their movies even if means forgoing a run in Imax.
David Frankel’s The Devil Wears Prada 2 doesn’t have any reason to be grumpy like its famous character, Miranda Priestly. The 20th Century and Disney sequel has fast become the top-grossing female-fueled pic since Barbie, and came in second with $18 million in North America for a global tally of $175.9 million through Sunday and $370.5 million overseas. (While it has access to a number of premium large-format screens, it was never remastered to play in Imax). But Disney’s film empire will soon be the ruler of Imax and all other premium-large format auditoriums when Memorial Day tentpole Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu opens around the world this week.
Another title performing nicely in the lull before Grogu: emerging director Curry Barker‘s supernatural horror film Obsession, which scared up a promising third-place finish with an estimated $16.1 million from 2,615 theaters, a modest location count in comparison to its competitors and well ahead of an expected $10 million to $12 million opening. From Focus Features and Blumhouse, Obsession has won over both critics and audiences in equal measure, boasting a coveted 94 percent score among both categories on Rotten Tomatoes as of midday Saturday.
Barker, 26, has spent the past few years amassing an avid fan base on YouTube with his sketch comedy channel, That’s a Bad Idea. He next made the $800 found-footage serial killer feature Milk & Serial, which went viral. Almost overnight, everyone in town was trying to win him over; he ultimately signed with UTA.
Obsession, which Focus acquired out of the Toronto Film Festival after a bidding war, stars Michael Johnston as a young man who has long been in love with a friend, Nikki (played by Inde Navarrette), and hopes that she will one day feel the same. But disastrous consequences ensue when he buys a One Wish Willow, which promises its users it will grant one wish upon splitting it in half, and wishes for his friend to love him. Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter also star.
Amazon MGM’s family-friendly film The Sheep Detectives, likewise a critical and audience favorite, rounded out the top five with an estimated $9 million in its sophomore outing for a domestic total north of $29 million. The comedy-mystery follows a flock of talking sheep who are determined to solve the suspicious death of their beloved shepherd, played by Hugh Jackman, who read them detective novels on a regular basis despite having no idea they could understand him. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, directors of the 2026 box office hit Project Hail Mary, are among the film’s executive producers.
Among other new offerings, Black Bear’s new distribution outfit continued to struggle with the muted opening of the Henry Cavill-led In the Grey, which came in ninth place with $3 million. That was followed by Amazon MGM Studio’s new film, Is God Is, which placed 10th with $2.2 million. The good news: Critics adore Is God Is, and audiences, too.
This story was originally published on May 16 at 9:24 a.m.
