Michael Outpaces Project Hail Mary By Nearly 70% On Day 1; Musical Biopic Takes Significant Lead At The Indian Box Office

The King of Pop has officially taken the lead over the stars at the Indian box office. On Day 1, the musical biopic Michael delivered a superior performance compared to the sci-fi epic Project Hail Mary, out-earning it in both national cinema chains and total domestic net collections. This decisive start highlights the massive draw of Michael Jackson's legacy, allowing the film to set a significant new benchmark for the musical biopic genre in the country.

Michael opened its account with a solid Day 1 net collection of ₹3.80 crore, supported by a wide release across 3,029 shows. When combined with its Day 0 preview earnings of ₹1.70 crore, the film's total India net collection currently stands at ₹5.50 crore. This compares very favorably to its competitor, Project Hail Mary, which managed to collect a net of ₹2.25 crore on its opening day from 1,324 shows. While the sci-fi film had a respectable start, it was clearly outscaled by the massive reach and show-count of the biopic, which had already established a historic lead through its record-breaking advance sales.

The gap between the two releases is equally evident in the performance within national cinema chains (PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis). Michael sold approximately 45,000 tickets for its opening day in these chains, resulting in a gross of roughly ₹2.00 crore. In contrast, Project Hail Mary, which had shifted its release date to avoid a clash with the domestic giant Dhurandhar 2, sold around 30,000 tickets in the national chains for a gross of ₹1.15 crore. Michael's ability to pull ahead by nearly 40 percent in the premium urban centers highlights its massive popularity as a global event film.

Looking at the trajectory, Michael is currently trending at an elite level for Hollywood releases in India. Having secured over 1.10 lakh ticket sales for its opening weekend through advance bookings alone, it has comfortably shattered the records of genre predecessors like Bohemian Rhapsody and Elvis. The film now ranks as the fourth-highest Hollywood film in terms of all-time advance sales in the country, trailing only the massive trio of Avengers: Endgame, Oppenheimer, and Barbie. This momentum suggests that the film is headed for a lucrative full run, provided the weekend holds remain steady.

Looking back at the journey of Project Hail Mary, the sci-fi epic has now completed a full month at the box office following its release on March 26. While Michael has taken the lead on a day-to-day basis this week, Project Hail Mary has already cemented its status as a massive global phenomenon. In the Indian market, the film has managed to rake in a total net collection of approximately ₹66.89 crore, with the English version dominating the charts by contributing over ₹63 crore. The dubbed versions saw a more limited response, with the Hindi version bringing in nearly ₹2.50 crore, while the Tamil and Telugu markets combined for just under ₹1 crore.

Despite entering its fifth week, the film continues to show respectable resilience in premium urban centers. For its performance today on April 25, the film has secured nearly 11,000(As of 3 pm) ticket sales across the national chains of PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis, resulting in a gross of approximately ₹38.00 lakh . On a global scale, the film has reached stratospheric heights, with the total worldwide gross standing at a staggering ₹5,400.84 crore. While the King of Pop biopic Michael is now the primary driver for current theatrical footfalls