The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” opened weekend and shattered every expectation for a music biopic, pulling in $218. 8 million globally—$97. 2 million from domestic theaters and$121. 6 million internationally.

The film’stotal near doubled the previous record holder for a biopic opening,whichwas setbyChristopherNolan’s“Oppenheimer”at$80milliondomestic. ForLionsgate,thestudiothatbackedtheproject,thenumbersprovedalmostincomprehensiblygood:theyhadprivatelyhopedfora$70milliondomesticopening,andthefilmpassedthatmarkbyFridaynightalone. . Thatboxofficejuggernautdidnotstopcriticsfromlaunchinganimmediatesalvoagainstthefilm.
ThecriticscoreonRottenTomatoeslandedbetween27and39percent,whiletheaudiencescorehittanastonishing97percent—oneofthelargestgapsbetweencriticsandmoviegoersinthesite’shistory. Thoseslowcriticreviewsoftencenteredononesinglemajorcomplaint:thefilmleftoutthechildsexualabuseallegationsthatshadowedJackson’slife. Butthefilmmakerssaytheydidn’thaveachoicein thematter,andthestoryofwhyisafamiliardetailmostreviewersleftout oftheirpieces. Thescriptoriginallybuiltaroundthoseallegations,includingthe1993Neverlandraid,whichdirectorAntoineFuquaconfirmedtoTheNewYorkerhadbeenthefilm’soriginalopeningsequence.
Theproductionevenshotthatfootage. Then,theJacksonestate’sownlawyers,whoweralsoservingasproducers,discoveredaclauseburiedinsidethe1994civilsettlementwiththeChandlerfamily. ThatclauselegallybarredJordanChandlerfrombeingdepictedormentionedinanyfilm,ever. Theestate’speoplehadmissedit.
Whathappenednextforced22emergencyreshootdays,amovefromSantaBarbaratoLosAngeles,an$10to$15millioncostoverrunonabudgetalreadysatat$155million,andafull-yearpushbackfromApril2025toApril202 6. Allthecriticswerethuspunishingafilmforleavingoutcontentitwaslegallyforbiddenfromincluding
. Criticismarrivedbymid-February2026,whenofficialtrailerdebutedandbecameimmediatelyunstoppable:30millionviewswithinsixhours,116millionacrosstheglobe—themost-watchedtrailerformusicbiopicinhistory. Byopeningweekend,filmhadmergedasapopculturebattleground.
Thesharpestsplitfellbetweenprofessionalscriticsandthegeneralpublic. Buttheattackson“Michael”didn’tstopatthescreen;theyincludedmembersofJackson’sownfamily. Michael’sdaughterPariswentpublicbeforethereleaseandcalledthebiopicafantasythatpanderedtoaverymuchspecificsectionofherdad’sfandom. Sourcesclose to the familysupportedRadar Onlinethatthereport.
Herpublicattackcarriedanextrawrinkle:thefilmrepresentedaseriousfinanciallifelineformichael’sstrugglingaunts,uncles,andcousins,whowerecountingonitsuccess. Somecriticscharacterizedherremarksnotmerelyasanopinionbutasanefforttodamagesomethingherownfamily’sfinancialfuturedependedon
. ActorColmanDomingo,whoplaysJoeJacksoninthefilm,compoundedtensionbytellingthepressthatbothParisandherbrotherPrincehadbeeninvolvedwiththeproject. Parisdirectlydeniedthat,publiclyclashingwithDomingoonline.
“Don’tbetellingpeopleIwashelpfulonthesetofamovieIhad0%involvementin. LOL,thatis soweird,”shewrote,sayinghadshereadonefirstscriptdraftandhandedhernotes. 当theynotaddressedit,shecontinued,“Imovedonwithmylife. Notmymonkeys,notmycircus.
”Domingostoodbysthisstatement. Parisdidn’tbackdown,andcontradictionresolvednever. Pariswasn’tthelonlyacksonfamilyrebuff. JanetJacksonwasaskedtobeportrayedinthefilmandsaidno.
LaToyaJacksonconfirmedthisattitudeinplaintermsto“Variety”:Janetwasaskedandkindlydeclined,andsherespectedherwishes. Asourceputitbluntly,allegingJanetwasalways“insanelyjealousofMichael”andthatherowcareerwas“inarounds thetoilet. ”Janet,whichpreviouslyfeaturedononeofMichael’smosticonicsongs“Scream,”choseinsteadtoerraseherselffromherbrother’slifestoryentirely,leavingavisiblegapin film’sdepictionofhislifeforreasonsthatwereleftunresolvedpublicly
. Throughoutallthis,JoeRogan’scommentarymadetensionhardertoignore.
Thepodcasterhadpredictedthefilm’sreceptionalmostayoarbeforeitopened. InOctober2025,hehadtoldpoliticalcommentatorKonstantinKisinonJREthathisviewonMichaelJackson’sromanticmusicwasthatitcameentirelyfromfantasy,notrealromance,notrealrelationships,butratherfromtheimaginationofsomeonewhonevergotoliveanormalhumanlife. Hisartwasn’tperformance,itwaslonging,hesaid. Thatsincerity,heargued,iswhythemusicresonatedsodeeplywithlisteners.
Roganalso referenceddoctor’sclaimsaboutJoeJackson,’sraisingandsaidhecouldimagethatfatherbeingoverbearingenoughto“makehimacastrato,basically,”viapubertyblockers. 他从2019年withWizKhalifahadcalledMichael“completelyunrepeatable,”describinghowrockradiostationsbroketheirformatjusttoplayasong. RoganputdisparagingcomedybitsaboutJackson’spastinconversation,includingTonyHinchliffe’sjoke“MichaelJacksonwassogood,whenBeatItcameonyou didn’tgiveadamnaboutth osekids,”aswellasCatWilliams’stand-upaboutNeverlandbeinga“honeypotforkids. ”这件作品他laterapplieddirectlytoatchthereceptionof“Michael”:“Wheneveryougotplacewhereeverybodyhasthesamepolitics,that’snotagoodsign.
Something’sgonerightwrongwrong,”heargued,connectingcriticalgroupthinktoitshutoutoftheGoldenGlobes“bestpodcast”categorybymainstreammediainDecember2025. . Thefilmitselffaceddirectcompetitivefirefromeverybiggestionthestudioscheduledagainstit. PixarandDisney’s“Hoppers”heldaneight-weekrunatthetoptenbefore“Michael”enteredtheconversation,reducingitslegacytofootnoteovernight.
RyGosling’ssci-fiepic“ProjectHailMary”hadbeendominantfilmoftheearly2026seasonwithover$650millionworldwideoveryear. 迈克尔surpasseditsweeklyearnings和totalaudienceengagement,bydirectcomparison,nearlydoublingtheopeningweekendnumberofthemilestone“BohemianRhapsody”intwodays. 那film,priorto“迈克尔,”wasconsideredthegoldstandardforbiopics,eventhoughithadonlyopenedto$51millionbeforebuildingtoa$910milliontotal. BazLuhrmann’s“Elvis”—priorto2026thebenchmarkforabiopichowshouldbe—grossed$288millionworldwideacrossentireitsrun。“迈克尔”surpassesthattotaljustfourweekendsin.
Withitsfourthweekend,“Michael”crossed$700millionglobally。ThatmarkwasthepreconditionforasequeltobeinggreenlitinLionsgate’soriginaldeal. Thesequel,expectedtocovertheyears“Thriller,intheNeverlandaccusations,andhis2009death,”hasalegalneedtogotoalloftheplaceswherepartonecouldnotlegallygo. “Thatstorycan’tbesanitized,”oneobserverputitincontext. Itmustgothere.
Nowthatthefirstfilm’sgrosshasprovenmassivelyprofitableandtheaudiencegapwithcriticscannotbeignored,themovie’ssuccesshasmadeanoldgroupthinkunmistakableitisthesameone没有matterhowmuchcriticspushedback. Theboxofficenumbers,bothweekends,don’thatemind.


