Michael Jackson’s Thriller just surged from No. 6 to No. 2 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart this week, fueled entirely by the global box office dominance of the 2026 theatrical biopic Michael. The film and its accompanying soundtrack have ignited a worldwide resurgence in Jackson’s catalog, heavily boosting both digital streaming and physical vinyl purchases across multiple generations.
The King of Pop was positioned to finally capture the peak position on the pure-purchase chart, but a surprise debut altered the math. The K-pop girl group Le Sserafim officially took the top spot, blocking Thriller from reaching No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart this week with their new EP Pureflow. This marks the third No. 1 on the chart for the South Korean act.
Stalling at No. 2 ties the all-time high for Thriller on this specific chart, a ceiling it previously hit in December 2022 during its 40th-anniversary physical media promotion. While the record is the best-selling traditional studio album in American history and ruled the overall Billboard 200 for 37 non-consecutive weeks in the 1980s, it has never conquered the Top Album Sales chart. This specific tally measures purely traditional physical and digital purchases and was introduced decades after the album’s initial release.
Despite the runner-up finish, the 1982 classic still crossed a rare threshold this week, clearing the 500-week milestone on the chart as the Michael biopic drives physical sales back into the mainstream retail market.