Michael Jackson Biopic Dominates Global Box Office Amid Bollywood Data Integrity Concerns
The Michael Jackson biopic Michael led the global box office for the weekend ending May 17, 2026, reaching a massive $703.8 million cumulative total. However, these figures arrive alongside growing scrutiny from RMN Stars regarding Comscore’s reporting of unverified and potentially inflated box office numbers for Bollywood films.
RMN Stars Box Office Desk
New Delhi | May 18, 2026
The global theatrical market continues to show significant strength as of mid-May 2026, driven by a mixture of high-profile biopics, sequels, and animated features. According to the latest estimates provided by Comscore’s Box Office Essentials, Lionsgate and UPI’s Michael secured the number one position worldwide for the weekend ending May 17. The film earned $83,831,000 over the weekend, with $57,706,000 coming from international territories and $26,125,000 from the domestic market. To date, the film has amassed a worldwide cume of $703,853,000, bolstered by a strong presence in 84 international territories.
Following closely in the second position is Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2, which brought in $68,600,000 globally over the weekend. The sequel has performed exceptionally well internationally, with an international cume of $370,300,000 compared to a domestic cume of $175,862,196, bringing its total worldwide earnings to $546,162,196. In the third spot, the film Dear You earned $39,107,000, all of which was attributed to international markets, bringing its total cume to $72,538,000.
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The middle of the rankings features a competitive mix of genre films. Mortal Kombat II from Warner Bros. captured the fourth spot with a weekend take of $23,400,000 and a worldwide cume now exceeding $101 million. Just behind it is The Sheep Detectives, distributed by Multi/AMZMGM, which earned $23,319,616 over the weekend across 89 territories. The film Obsession debuted in the sixth position with $23,105,000, showing a strong domestic lean with $16,100,000 of that total coming from North American theaters.
Longer-running hits also continue to populate the top ten. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie took the seventh spot with a weekend earning of $17,020,000. This brings its staggering worldwide cumulative total to $964,148,000, placing it on the verge of the billion-dollar milestone. The 40th-anniversary re-release of Top Gun also made an appearance at number eight, generating $9,900,000 globally for the weekend. Rounding out the list are the new entry In the Grey at number nine with $8,225,000 and the sci-fi holdover Project Hail Mary at number ten, which has now reached a cumulative global total of $667,854,000.
While these figures highlight a thriving global market, they are accompanied by serious allegations regarding data transparency in specific sectors. RMN Stars has been actively exposing what it describes as Comscore’s deception in reporting unverified box office numbers. These concerns specifically target the inflation of figures for several Bollywood films. The data in question is compiled by Comscore’s Box Office Essentials and International Box Office Essentials, which serve as the primary analytical services for theatrical tracking.
The discrepancy between verified ticket sales and reported estimates has become a point of contention for industry observers. For journalists and investors, the reliance on unverified numbers for Bollywood productions raises questions about the overall integrity of global box office rankings. While major Hollywood studio releases like Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2 undergo rigorous tracking across dozens of territories, the reporting mechanisms for regional cinema often lack the same level of independent verification.
The current landscape suggests a bifurcated reality in film economics. On one hand, the massive success of the Michael Jackson biopic demonstrates the enduring power of global intellectual property and traditional studio distribution. On the other hand, the persistent reports of inflated Bollywood figures suggest that the metrics used to measure “success” in the film industry may be susceptible to manipulation in markets where data collection is less transparent.
As the summer movie season approaches, the industry must grapple with these transparency issues. The reporting provided by Comscore remains the standard for many news outlets, yet the challenges raised by RMN Stars regarding unverified Bollywood data highlight the need for more robust auditing of international box office figures. For now, the numbers for the weekend of May 17, 2026, show a market led by Michael, but the shadow of data integrity continues to loom over the global rankings.
