Bohemian Rhapsody (2018 film)

Overview

Bohemian Rhapsody is a 2018 biographical film about Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the British rock band Queen, starring Rami Malek as Mercury (NME; TheWrap). Directed by Bryan Singer — fired by 20th Century Fox in December 2017 with weeks of shooting left and replaced by Dexter Fletcher — it was produced by Graham King and released on November 2, 2018 (ET Online; TheWrap). This profile is about the film, not Queen’s song of the same name.

The film’s documented real-world story is its turbulent eight-year path to the screen and what followed: four Academy Awards including Best Actor for Malek, and a $903.6M–$911M worldwide total that made it the highest-grossing musical biopic ever until the 2026 Michael film overtook it (TheWrap; Business Standard; BroadwayWorld; The Economic Times).

Eight years to the screen

Plans for a Freddie Mercury biopic surfaced in September 2010 with Sacha Baron Cohen — described as a spitting image of Mercury — locked in to star, from a script by Frost/Nixon writer Peter Morgan, with Graham King, Tim Headington, Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal attached to produce (TheWrap). The project then spent years shedding talent: Cohen exited in July 2013 over creative differences — he wanted a warts-and-all portrait while the band wanted something more reverential (TheWrap; Business Standard) — Dexter Fletcher departed the director’s chair in March 2014 over similar differences, and The Theory of Everything writer Anthony McCarten was hired to rewrite the script in November 2015 (TheWrap). The film finally locked its shape in November 2016, when Mr. Robot star Rami Malek stepped into the role with Bryan Singer attached to direct (TheWrap).

A director fired three weeks from the finish

Production halted in December 2017 when Singer became “unexpectedly unavailable,” and Fox fired him days later with fewer than three weeks of shooting remaining; Dexter Fletcher — who had left the project as director back in 2014 — was hired to finish it (TheWrap; ET Online). Fox cited Singer’s absences from set and reported tensions with Malek; Singer denied feuding with his star, saying he had asked for time to care for an ailing parent and that the studio “terminated my services” (ET Online). The turmoil followed the film to awards season: nominated for Outstanding British Film at the BAFTAs, it saw BAFTA suspend Singer’s personal nomination after misconduct allegations against him — allegations Singer denied — while the film itself remained in contention (NME). The finished film drew a split verdict: Malek won high praise for his performance even as reviews ran tepid — 60 percent on Rotten Tomatoes on opening day (TheWrap).

Four Oscars and the box-office crown

At the 91st Academy Awards, Bohemian Rhapsody won four honours — Best Actor for Rami Malek, plus film editing, sound editing and sound mixing — the most of any film that night, though Best Picture went to Green Book (Business Standard). Commercially, it kept climbing past every genre marker: in late 2018 it passed $608 million worldwide to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever, overtaking Mamma Mia! from 2008 (NME, via Deadline), and finished its run reported at $903.6 million (BroadwayWorld, via Variety) to around $911 million (The Economic Times, via Variety). That total stood as the all-time high for a musical biopic for about seven and a half years, until the 2026 Michael film crossed $1.001 billion and took the crown (The Economic Times). Earlier in its run, the film had also made Queen’s song “Bohemian Rhapsody” the most-streamed track of the twentieth century (NME).

Milestone	Figure	Source
Late 2018: becomes highest-grossing music biopic, passing Mamma Mia! (2008)	$608M worldwide	NME (via Deadline)
Final theatrical run	$903.6M (BroadwayWorld) – ~$911M (Economic Times)	BroadwayWorld; The Economic Times (both via Variety)
Jun–Jul 2026: Michael takes the crown	$977M → $1.001B worldwide	BroadwayWorld; The Economic Times

The stat, source and implication: a final total between $903.6 million and $911 million (BroadwayWorld; The Economic Times) — the all-time musical-biopic high for roughly seven and a half years — which is why the film’s total became the benchmark every later biopic was measured against until Michael moved it.

Key milestones

Date	Milestone	Source
Sep 2010	Sacha Baron Cohen attached to play Mercury; Peter Morgan script	TheWrap
Jul 2013	Cohen exits over creative differences with Queen’s remaining members	Business Standard
Nov 2016	Rami Malek cast as Mercury; Bryan Singer to direct	TheWrap
Dec 2017	Fox fires Singer; Dexter Fletcher hired to finish	ET Online
Nov 2, 2018	US theatrical release	TheWrap
Late 2018	Passes $608M; highest-grossing music biopic ever (via Deadline)	NME
Feb 2019	Four Oscars at the 91st Academy Awards (Best Actor, editing, sound editing, sound mixing); BAFTA Outstanding British Film nomination; Singer’s personal BAFTA nomination suspended	Business Standard; NME
Jun–Jul 2026	Michael overtakes it as highest-grossing musical biopic ($1.001B)	BroadwayWorld; The Economic Times

Frequently asked questions

Is Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) based on a true story? Yes. It is a biographical film about Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock band Queen, with Rami Malek in the role. Producer Graham King shepherded it from the 2010 Sacha Baron Cohen attachment through to the 2018 release.

Why was Bryan Singer fired from Bohemian Rhapsody? In December 2017, 20th Century Fox fired Singer weeks before filming wrapped, citing “unexpected unavailability” amid reported absences and tensions with star Rami Malek. Singer denied feuding with Malek, saying he had asked for time to care for an ailing parent.

How much did Bohemian Rhapsody make at the box office? It passed $608 million in late 2018 to become the highest-grossing music biopic ever, and finished its run reported at $903.6 million to around $911 million — the all-time musical-biopic high until the 2026 Michael film crossed $1 billion.

Did Rami Malek win an Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody? Yes — Best Actor at the 91st Academy Awards for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury. The film won four Oscars in total — also film editing, sound editing and sound mixing — the most of any film that night, though Best Picture went to Green Book.

Is the movie named after the Queen song? It shares its title with Queen’s song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but this profile is about the 2018 film, not the song. Around the film’s release the song became the most-streamed track of the twentieth century, per NME — a sign of the film’s halo effect on the catalog.

What this profile does not claim

• It is not about Queen’s song “Bohemian Rhapsody”; the song and the 2018 film are distinct entities that share a title.
• It does not assert a single final box-office figure; the $903.6M and ~$911M reports coexist in the record (see openItems).
• It does not resolve the two accounts of Singer’s firing, state who received the official sole director credit, or detail the misconduct allegations behind BAFTA’s suspension of his nomination; each is reported only as far as the sources establish it.
• It makes no claim about the film’s critical reception beyond the opening-day data point; reviews are not this profile’s basis.

What we could not verify

• Whether the final total was $903.6 million or ~$911 million; both come via Variety through different outlets.
• The exact date of the $608 million “highest-grossing music biopic” milestone; context places it in late 2018.
• The production budget; tertiary sources say $50–55 million but no fully-read source confirmed it.
• The official director-credit outcome after Singer’s firing and Fletcher’s completion.
• Review-score aggregation beyond the opening-day 60% figure, deliberately outside this profile’s scope.

Sources

• TheWrap — “‘Bohemian Rhapsody:’ A History of Making the Freddie Mercury Biopic” (tier2)
• ET Online — “‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Finds Bryan Singer’s Replacement” (tier2)
• Business Standard — “Oscars 2019: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Green Book’ win big” (tier1)
• Business Standard — “Cohen exits Freddie Mercury biopic over creative differences” (tier1)
• The Economic Times — “Michael makes box office world record” (tier1)
• NME — “‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is now the highest-grossing music biopic of all time” (tier2)
• NME — “BAFTA suspend Bryan Singer’s nomination for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’” (tier2)
• BroadwayWorld — “‘MICHAEL’ Becomes the Highest-Grossing Biopic of All Time” (tier2)

All eight were fetched and read in full for this profile; none is a Wikipedia page, directory, scraper, or AI-generated page.