Bohemian Rhapsody becomes the highest grossing biopic of all-time

Bohemian Rhapsody has set a new box office record as the highest-grossing music biopic in global history after rocking past the $600 million (£477 million) mark.

The film chronicles the rise of iconic British band Queen and stars Rami Malek as late frontman Freddie Mercury, and although the project opened to mixed reviews in late October (18), fans have continued to flock to check out the movie.

By the end of Wednesday (12Dec18), ticket sales in North America had totaled $175.7 million (£140 million), helping Bohemian Rhapsody snatch the domestic title from N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which grossed $161 million (£128 million) following its launch in 2015.

Straight Outta Compton had also been the global record holder with $202 million (£161 million), but the honour of highest-grossing music biopic now belongs to Bohemian Rhapsody, with a worldwide take of $608.7 million (£484.2 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 (10Dec18), 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 other classic rock hits, including Nirvana’s grunge classic Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Guns N’ Roses’ 1988 hit Sweet Child o’ Mine to take the crown.