It’s a saying that’s thrown out to symbolize the ultimate in largess. “They have more money than the queen.” Well, in the case of rock group Queen, fittingly enough, they can make that claim rather truthfully from this moment forward. And they can thank the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody for their ability to do so.
Thanks to the runaway hit success of the Academy Award-winning story of Freddie Mercury and his bandmates' rise to the top, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon are all estimated at being worth £445 million, which is roughly $583 million in U.S. currency. Considering how much Bohemian Rhapsody made, it’s not all that surprising that their wealth should jump so high. For comparison, Queen Elizabeth II is currently worth £370m, which translates to about $484.6 million.
On the basis of the film’s success as a theatrical product, the $902.5 million international grosses against the $50 million production budget make Bohemian Rhapsody something of a megahit. With Rami Malek’s performance as Freddie Mercury giving the film a lot of good notices, and the fan reaction to the film being overwhelmingly positive, the monetary success of the film alone would only be the start to what’s fueled the surviving members’ fortunes to rise.
Not to mention that the film is now the highest grossing musical biopic of the world! With a successful musical movie comes even more successful ancillary markets, both in merchandising and record sales. Undoubtedly Bohemian Rhapsody’s success in theaters had folks walking out of the theater, humming their favorite Queen songs on the way to their cars and eventually primed to buy their favorite albums, as well as any sort of merchandise they feel can show their fandom for the film.
Let's also remember that with Bohemian Rhapsody’s title track becoming the most streamed song in the 20th century, that’s certainly a mark of success that is only another feather in Queen’s cap. It’s certainly the sort of success that would make a musical act keen on replicating that sort of success, and you can imagine how this news will make the band keen on jumpstarting talks for that proposed sequel that has been flying around ever since Bohemian Rhapsody first took off.
This news has been announced ahead of its publication in The Times’ annual “Rich List,” which will be running in the upcoming Sunday edition. And after the results putting Queen ahead of Queen Elizabeth II, it might be a good idea for the royal sovereign to get a good agent and start cashing in herself.
Maybe with the right sort of wrangling, the Queen could get herself a piece of future seasons of Netflix’s The Crown. Maybe she could even try to put together her own package for an authorized biographical film, starring a Hollywood talent that could lead it to awards and monetary glory.
Certainly if England’s greatest musical acts can do it, then so could Queen Elizabeth II herself. That is, if she’s even bothered by this news in the first place. With a new grandson freshly brought into the world, and the duties of being England’s queen still on her plate, this may not really matter to her. Any way the wind blows, this is amazing news for Queen, and probably an interesting footnote in history for The Queen.
Bohemian Rhapsody is available on home video and streaming in all major formats.
