The latest North American box office roundup finds the Michael Jackson biopic Michael back on top, overtaking Disney’s The Devil Wears Prada 2, with Lionsgate’s crowded slate and several surprise newcomers reshaping the charts. Studio tallies put Michael at $26.1 million for the weekend while The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mortal Kombat II and a string of indie hits kept theaters full. Directors, stars and studios mentioned include Curry Barker, Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza González, Kara Young, Mallori Johnson, Amazon MGM Studios and Lionsgate. The scene also has one eye on next weekend’s wide release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.
Michael reclaimed the top spot in North America with an estimated $26.1 million in ticket sales after two weeks trailing The Devil Wears Prada 2. The Lionsgate release has now hauled in roughly $703.9 million worldwide, a colossal run that still sits short of Bohemian Rhapsody’s all-time musical biopic total of about $910.8 million. Even with those numbers, Michael’s hold shows how powerful strong audience interest in music-focused biographies remains.
Disney and 20th Century Studios’ The Devil Wears Prada 2 slipped into second place in its third weekend, pulling in approximately $18 million. That stretch lifts its domestic total to about $175.9 million and pushes worldwide revenue to the neighborhood of $546.2 million. Its steady performance underscores the movie’s mainstream grip and the franchise’s lasting cachet among theatergoers.
Newcomers stirred the mix as well, and chief among them was Obsession, which exceeded expectations with an estimated $16.1 million from roughly 2,615 theaters. Written and directed by YouTube breakout Curry Barker, the thriller follows a hopeless romantic who gets way more than he bargained for when his crush comes back into his life. Critics and audiences have warmed to it, with a high Rotten Tomatoes score and an A- CinemaScore, and the production’s tiny budget—about $750,000—makes its box office haul even more notable.
At fourth place, Mortal Kombat II tumbled about 65 percent in its second weekend, generating $13.4 million domestically while carrying a global tally near $101.2 million across 80 markets. The steep drop is a reminder of how blockbuster sequels can front-load their grosses and then yield quickly to newer or more hyped releases. Still, the franchise keeps a committed fan base that keeps those numbers ticking over.
Amazon MGM Studios managed three films inside the top 10, showing depth across genres and audiences. The Sheep Detectives sits in fifth after a modest 33 percent weekend dip, adding roughly $10.2 million and bringing its running total to about $30.5 million. Project Hail Mary, now available for home viewing, still brought in an extra $3.4 million in its ninth weekend, while Is God Is launched into the top 10 with about $2.2 million on opening weekend.
Is God Is, adapted from Aleshea Harris’s Obie-winning play, stars Kara Young and Mallori Johnson as twin sisters on a violent quest to confront their father, and it arrived with strong critical acclaim, including a 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. The film’s brutal premise and stage-to-screen roots mark it as a different kind of commercial entry, one that found a clear, engaged audience out of the gate. Its performance shows there’s room at the box office for gritty, daring work alongside the big franchises.
Rounding out the newcomers, Black Bear’s action thriller In the Grey opened to about $3 million from 2,018 locations, pairing a cast led by Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal and Eiza González. The picture centers on a team of elite operatives on a near-impossible mission and has drawn mixed responses, reflected in a Rotten Tomatoes score in the mid-40s and a B CinemaScore from audiences. Its modest opening hints at the challenge of standing out in a crowded summer market packed with tentpoles and surprise indie successes.
