Does Lionsgate want “Michael” to hit the billion-dollar mark at the box office? The film is currently at $870M, with a major Japan release coming up this month — meaning it’s still very possible the billion-dollar milestone could be reached.
Then why is “Michael” now set to hit digital next Tuesday, June 9? That appears to be Lionsgate’s plan, just a little over six weeks after its theatrical rollout began — or 46 days. The film earned $11M this weekend, finishing fourth at the box office, and is still expected to bring in decent numbers next week.
I know it was a different time, just two years before COVID changed everything, but “Bohemian Rhapsody” exclusively played in theaters for over 100 days before hitting digital — and went on to earn $910M worldwide. Nowadays, the only major studio that would give such a robust theatrical rollout to one of its titles is Disney.
International markets — especially Japan — will now be more decisive in determining whether “Michael” reaches the billion-dollar mark. No film so far this year has reached that milestone, with the closest being “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” at $992M.