Michael, the biopic about late music superstar Michael Jackson, returned to the top spot at the North American box office, showing strong staying power with audiences, industry estimates showed Sunday.
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 criticized for not including material on sexual abuse allegations. Fans, however, have still flocked to hear the King of Pop’s iconic hits. Overall, Michael has raked in $703.8 million globally.
Holding its position at No. 2 was The Devil Wears Prada, which earned $18 million in US and Canadian theaters. The Disney/20th Century sequel to the 2006 hit about the cutthroat world of high fashion stars Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, and has grossed about $175.9 million domestically.
Debuting in third place was the horror film 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 affection of a woman he admires and must face the consequences.
Mortal Kombat II, a Warner Bros. sequel based on the popular martial arts video game, dropped to fourth place with $13.4 million.
The Sheep Detectives, a family-friendly mystery film from Amazon MGM, finished fifth with $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, band together to solve the crime.
Rounding out the top 10 were The Super Mario Galaxy Movie ($4.5 million), Project Hail Mary ($3.9 million), a re-release of Top Gun: 40th Anniversary ($3.1 million), In the Grey ($3 million), and Is God Is ($2.2 million).
