Is Michael really the new king of biopics at the French box office?

With more than 5.25 million entries, Michael Jackson overtakes Edith Piaf and breaks a 19-year-old record. But is it really the biggest biopic of all time in France?

Michael Jackson’s reign is total.

Almost two months after its release in French cinemas, Michaelthe biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua, has just become the most viewed biopic in history in France. Or at least, the musical biopic…

5,250,000 entries! The King of Pop doubles with a short head The Kid by Olivier Dahan, who held the record since 2007 with 5,242,769 spectators. At the time, the film dedicated to Édith Piaf had left its mark and offered Marion Cotillard the Oscar for best actress, a first for an interpretation entirely in French.

The success of Michael is not limited to France. Worldwide, the film has just crossed the $900 million mark in revenue and will be screened in the coming days Bohemian Rhapsody and its $911 million at the worldwide box office, to become the most profitable biopic in cinema history.

The most viewed musical biopics in France

Michael (2026) – 5.25 million entries
The Kid (2007) – 5.24M
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) – 4.43M
Amadeus (1984) – 4.50 M
La Bamba (1987) – 2.70M
Mr Aznavour (2024) – 2.02M
Bob Marley: One Love (2024) – 1.90M
Cloclo (2012) – 1.79M
Ray (2004) – 1.60M
Rocketman (2019) – 1.55M

But can we really say that Michael is the number 1 biopic in French box office history?

The question is more complex than it seems and concerns an endless debate: what is a biopic? A biopic, in the strict sense, is a film centered on the life of an identifiable real person, whose story follows all or part of their journey. But in reality, the border is far from clear. Between the pure biopic, the historical film and the drama inspired by true events, the categories constantly overlap.

But in the middle of these strict boundaries, a film stands out without discussion: Lawrence of Arabia. Beyond its epic and historical dimension, David Lean’s film is based on the life of TE Lawrence, a British officer whose personal trajectory, military commitments and the construction of a mythical figure he traces. The film is even an adaptation of the autobiographical story The Seven Pillars of Wisdomwritten by Lawrence himself. It is therefore indeed a biopic in the most absolute sense of the term, even if it adopts the form of a monumental fresco. Under these conditions, if Michael today dominates the ranking of musical biopics in France, it would – for the moment – only the 2nd most popular biopic in the history of the French box office.