“Bohemian Rhapsody” has set a new box office record as the highest-grossing music biopic in global history after rocking past the $600 million mark.
The film chronicles the rise of iconic British band Queen and stars Rami Malek as late front man Freddie Mercury, and although the project opened to mixed reviews in late October, fans have continued to flock to check out the movie.
By the end of Wednesday, ticket sales in North America had totaled $175.7 million, helping Bohemian Rhapsody snatch the domestic title from N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which grossed $161 million following its launch in 2015.
“Straight Outta Compton” had also been the global record holder with $202 million, but the honor of highest-grossing music biopic now belongs to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” with a worldwide take of $608.7 million and counting, reports Deadline.com.
The news emerges as the cast and crew celebrate double nominations for the 2019 Golden Globe Awards, with the film shortlisted for the Best Motion Picture – Drama accolade, while Malek has picked up a nod for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama.
It is also up for two prizes at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where the film has earned an Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture nomination, and Malek will compete for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
Meanwhile, the movie musical’s popularity has given Queen’s song of the same name a massive streaming boost and on Monday it was revealed the operatic rock masterpiece, which was originally released in 1975, had become the most-streamed song released in the 20th century.
The track had been played by fans more than 1.6 billion times around the world, overtaking all other classic rock hits.
