Well, well, well, the King of Pop is back on top of the Box Office after four weeks in theaters, putting its newer competition to shame with $26.1 million as it inches closer to becoming the world’s biggest biopic of all time. The Devil Wears Prada 2, meanwhile, continued its confident prance past another global milestone, while Mortal Kombat II watched the life drain from its health bar. One more thing — what on earth happened to Billie Eilish?
There were no big new releases from the 2026 movie schedule this weekend ahead of Memorial Day, but Obsession from Blumhouse and Focus Features certainly made its mark as one of the weekend’s best.
Let’s take a look at the Top 10 chart, then break down some highlights below.
Weekend Box Office: May 15-17, 2026
* denotes new release
TITLE | WEEKEND TOTAL | DOMESTIC TOTAL | LAST WEEK | THEATERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Michael | $26,125,000 | $282,796,827 | 3 | 3,560 |
2. The Devil Wears Prada 2 | $18,000,000 | $175,862,196 | 1 | 3,830 |
3. Obsession* | $16,100,000 | $16,100,000 | N/A | 2,615 |
4. Mortal Kombat II | $13,400,468 | $62,233,000 | 2 | 3,534 |
5. The Sheep Detectives | $9,319,589 | $29,661,000 | 4 | 3,454 |
6. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | $4,450,000 | $418,619,000 | 6 | 2,793 |
7. Project Hail Mary | $3,898,295 | $334,854,000 | 7 | 2,177 |
8. Top Gun | $3,100,000 | $185,265,000 | N/A | 2,295 |
9. In the Grey* | $3,005,000 | $3,005,000 | N/A | 2,018 |
10. Is God Is* | $2,222,342 | $2,222,342 | N/A | 1,510 |
Michael Jackson Biopic Continues Its Climb To History
What a “Smooth Criminal” that Michael is, sliding right past the films that battled so fiercely for the top two spots last week to steal back No. 1. Through four weekends, the Jaafar Jackson-led flick has earned $282.8 million domestically, per The Numbers, and when combined with the $421.1 million from international markets, that’s $703.9 million.
Bohemian Rhapsody better get ready, because we may soon have a new champion, my friend. The Freddie Mercury film holds the current top spot for world’s biggest music biopic, thanks to its $911 million worldwide haul, but that doesn’t seem out of reach for Michael.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 And Obsession Have Strong Showings
Michael wasn’t the only film to cross a global milestone this weekend. Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway’s quotable sequel may have dropped to second place for the first time in its theatrical run but, after three weekends, The Devil Wears Prada 2 crossed the half-billion dollar mark, with worldwide box office earnings of $546.2 million.
Last week, I wrote that new releases weren’t likely to place in the Top 3, and Obsession put me in my place with a debut of $16.1 million domestic and $7 million international for a worldwide total of $23.1 million. I will definitely be on the lookout for any cursed objects coming my way from those I may have scorned.
Part of the reason for the strong start is due to Mortal Kombat II taking a dive, but that’s not to undermine Obsession’s accomplishment — the horror flick more than doubled the $7 million projections for opening weekend. Critics had high praise for Obsession and, in fact, let’s take a look at how they and the audience scored this week’s new releases:
RANK/TITLE | RT CRITICS | RT AUDIENCE | CINEMASCORE |
|---|---|---|---|
3. Obsession | 94% | 94% | A- |
9. In the Grey | 44% | 83% | B |
10. Is God Is | 97% | 89% | B+ |
Obsession’s impressive opening is a good sign that word-of-mouth advertising will keep it in the Top 10 for a bit, although Billie Eilish’s new concert movie is proof that that’s not always the case.
Billie Eilish’s 3D Concert Flick Falls Hard (And Not Soft) Out Of Top 10 In Second Weekend
Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) enjoyed an opening weekend of $7.5 million in the U.S. and Canada to finish at No. 5 at the Box Office last week. However, after 10 days, the party is most certainly over, as the James Cameron-directed concert movie earned just $800,000 over the past three days — a fall of 89% all the way to 14th place.
Now, I understand that concert films are frontloaded, with the most passionate fans buying tickets on opening weekend. However, with James Cameron attached as director and his use of 3D to film the movie, I’d expect Hit Me Hard and Soft to have piqued the interest of more casual fans as well. I’d also expect — as we saw with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Movie — for die-hard fans to make repeat trips to see the icon on the big screen.
That doesn’t seem to be the case when looking at the theatrical releases of Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s concert movies in the first two weeks:
CONCERT FILM | 1ST WEEKEND | 2ND WEEKEND | DIFFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|
Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) | $7.5 million | $800,000 | 89% |
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour | $93.2 million | $33.2 million | 64% |
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé | $21.8 million | $5.5 million | 75% |
So yes, even Taylor Swift saw a big dip in her numbers over the second weekend, but neither hers nor Beyoncé’s with Renaissance was as drastic as Billie Eilish’s. There’s also the fact that 3D filming ain’t cheap, and these numbers don’t make me optimistic that she can make back the estimated $50 million she’d need to break even on a reported budget of $20 million plus marketing and promotion.
Who’s Ready For The Mandalorian And Grogu?
Next weekend is what a lot of Star Wars fans have been waiting for, due to the premiere of The Mandalorian and Grogu. Despite some troubling early projections for Pedro Pascal’s latest project — and divided first reactions from critics — Box Office Theory is now expecting it to bring in anywhere from $81 million to $96 million from next Friday to Sunday. Here are the average projections for all of the May 22 new releases:
- The Mandalorian and Grogu: $90 million
- Passenger: $6 million
- I Love Boosters: $4 million
A Few Other Notes To Wrap The Weekend
- Mortal Kombat II dropped from second place to fourth on its sophomore weekend, attracting 65% fewer movie lovers.
- The Sheep Detectives, meanwhile, lost only 38% of its weekend-over-weekend audience, proving that people love sheep puns.
- As for the varied opinions of CinemaBlend's writers about the book-to-screen adaptation, I thought the novel Three Bags Full was funnier and more charming. Corey Chichizola says it’s a must-watch for anyone dealing with grief, and Mack Rawden thought it was baaaaaad (but thinks you should see it anyway).
Regardless of which big-screen item you decide to see this week, let’s meet back here next week to talk about Star Wars and more.
