The initial run of ‘Michael’ at the box office lasted barely a week, as it was quickly overtaken by another tremendous phenomenon like ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ (‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’). However, the film starring Jaafar Jackson has just made history by dethroning the comedy with Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep to reclaim the No. 1 spot at the U.S. box office.
Throughout this week it had become clear that ‘Michael’ was surpassing ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ on several days, but it was this weekend when the final confirmation arrived, as estimates suggest it pulled in $27 million, while its main rival is set to stay at around $20 million.
The Incredible Success of ‘Michael’
The key lies in the fact that ‘Michael’ has been holding up marvelously in the weeks since its debut, to the point where forecasts indicate his U.S. weekend earnings will barely drop by about 29% compared to seven days ago. By contrast, the drop for ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is more pronounced and reaches as much as 52%.
First of all, this makes clear that ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is not going to surpass the final gross of ‘Michael’. At first it seemed that it might, but the current trend confirms that the King of Pop’s biopic will come out on top when both life stories in cinemas come to an end.
For now, ‘Michael’ has already reached $283 million in North American theaters, while worldwide it has surpassed the $350 million mark. The big question now is what its ceiling might be, since $700 million is increasingly within reach and it’s not impossible to imagine reaching $800.
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