Key Takeaways
- Fueled by the billion-dollar success of the biopic Michael, Michael Jackson’s catalog helped drive a 22% revenue jump at Sony Music to about $3.5 billion for the quarter, even as Sony Pictures’ box office slowed.
- Albums like Thriller, Bad, Off the Wall, Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson, and Xscape all surged on the charts, with deep cut “Chicago” even breaking into the Hot 100 off streaming and TikTok momentum.
- The film’s warm reception—praised by Questlove for giving Jackson back his humanity and sparking talk of a sequel—has turned one of pop’s most scrutinized legacies into a fresh commercial engine for Sony.
Michael Jackson's blockbuster comeback isn't just reshaping the box office—it's now showing up on Sony's balance sheet.
According to Deadline, Sony’s Music segment reported a 22% jump in quarterly sales to roughly $3.5 billion for the three months ending in June, with the company identifying Jackson's Thriller and Bad among its top-performing recorded music projects during the same period that the Michael biopic dominated theaters.
The earnings report arrives just weeks after Michael became one of 2026's biggest success stories. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jaafar Jackson as his famous uncle, the film recently crossed the $1 billion worldwide mark, becoming Lionsgate's highest-grossing movie ever and one of the most successful music biopics in history.
And as audiences flocked to theaters, they also returned to Jackson's catalog in massive numbers.
That surge has been reflected across the Billboard charts. In recent months, Jackson's catalog has enjoyed one of its strongest posthumous runs since his death in 2009. Off the Wall recently logged its 200th week on the Billboard 200, while Thriller, Bad, Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson, and Xscape all charted simultaneously.
Deep cuts have benefited as well. "Chicago," a track originally released on the 2014 posthumous album Xscape, recently cracked the Billboard Hot 100 after gaining traction on streaming services and TikTok.
Sony's latest earnings provide perhaps the clearest indication yet of how significant that resurgence has become. While Sony Pictures experienced a comparatively slow quarter theatrically—with revenue declining 13% year over year to $1.98 billion after releasing only The Breadwinner in North America—its music division moved in the opposite direction.
Sony specifically highlighted Thriller and Bad as two of its 10 best-selling recorded music projects during the quarter, directly coinciding with the release of Michael.
The renewed commercial momentum follows months of headlines surrounding the film itself. Before its release, Michael underwent extensive revisions tied to legal issues involving decades-old settlement agreements, while director Antoine Fuqua acknowledged that some sequences ultimately didn't make the final cut.
Even so, audiences embraced the finished film. Questlove praised it for having "gave him back his humanity," while cast members including Nia Long and Jaafar Jackson spoke about the responsibility of portraying one of music's most scrutinized figures.
The film's success has also fueled discussions about a potential sequel, with Lionsgate executives confirming updates are expected.
