“Michael,” the biopic about late music superstar Michael Jackson, has returned to the top spot at the box office, showing impressive staying power with audiences, industry estimates showed.
The film, which chronicles the legendary artist’s rise from child star to one of the world’s most famous pop icons, took in $26.1 million in its fourth week of release, Exhibitor Relations reported.
The Lionsgate movie, which stars Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s nephew, in his first acting role — has been criticised for not including any material about allegations of sexual abuse, but fans have nevertheless flocked to hear the King of Pop’s iconic hits.
Overall, “Michael” has raked in a massive $703.8 million at the global box office.
Elsewhere, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” slid to second place with an $18 million haul in its second week. The Disney/20th Century film sequel to the 2006 smash hit about the cutthroat world of high fashion stars Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.
Debuting in third place was horror flick “Obsession” from Focus Features, which earned $16.1 million.
The low-budget film stars Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette as a man who makes a sinister bargain to win the affections of the woman he admires. and must bear the consequences.
“Another weekend, another well-made, low-budget horror film over-performing at the box office. This opening is excellent,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, saying it only cost an estimated $750,000 to make.
“Mortal Kombat II,” a Warner Bros sequel based on the popular martial arts fantasy video game, dropped to fourth place at $13.4 million.
And “The Sheep Detectives,” a family-friendly mystery film from Amazon MGM, finished in fifth place at $9.3 million.
The film stars Hugh Jackman as a shepherd who reads mysteries to his flock in an English village. When he is found dead, the sheep (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Patrick Stewart, among others) band together to solve the crime.
