Lionsgate’s “Michael” opened with $39.5 million from 3,955 North American theaters on Friday, setting the strongest debut for a music biopic and topping the weekend box office.
The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced with the Jackson estate’s approval, surpassed the opening weekends of “Bohemian Rhapsody” ($51 million) and “Straight Outta Compton” ($60 million), with projections pointing to a $90–$100 million three-day gross.
Despite the strong start, the film carries a $155 million production budget, inflated by costly music rights and elaborate concert reconstructions, creating pressure for sustained box office performance.
The budget ballooned further after the original third act — depicting a 1993 child sexual abuse lawsuit against Michael Jackson — was deemed unusable due to a legal clause in the settlement that barred any depiction or mention of the accuser in film or television.
Fuqua was forced to rework the narrative to focus on Michael Jackson’s relationship with his father, Joe Jackson, portrayed by Colman Domingo, shifting the film’s emphasis from the artist’s later years to his formative struggles under paternal control.
Michael Jackson is played by his real-life nephew, Jafaar Jackson, while Nia Long portrays Katherine Jackson, and additional Jackson family members are played by Tre’ Horton (Marlon), Rhyan Hill and Tito Jackson (unspecified), Joseph David-Jones (Jackie), and Jamal Henderson (Jermaine).
“Michael” was the only major new release over the weekend, with second place going to Universal’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which earned $4.5 million on Friday and is projected to reach $20.5 million by Sunday, bringing its total to approximately $385 million.
Third place belonged to “Project Hail Mary,” which grossed $3.5 million on Friday and is expected to reach $12.1 million by Sunday, pushing its domestic total to around $304 million.
Fourth and fifth places were taken by “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” ($1.9 million Friday, projected $5 million weekend, $22 million total) and “The Drama” ($810,000 Friday, projected $2.6 million weekend, $44 million total).
Critics and viewers have noted the film’s avoidance of difficult truths about Michael Jackson’s later life, including his changing appearance, erratic behavior, and public perception as “Wacko Jacko,” despite the film’s focus on his early independence from his father.
One viewer, reflecting on the film after a screening, recalled Jordan Neely, a homeless Michael Jackson impersonator who died in 2023 after being placed in a chokehold by Daniel Penny on a New York subway, sparking thoughts about society’s tendency to avoid uncomfortable realities.
Neely, who had admired Jackson’s early talent for mimicking Motown acts, was later seen as a symbol of how the artist’s legacy inspired others to seek escape from poverty and racism through performance — until Jackson’s own life became a spectacle that complicated that narrative.
The manslaughter case against Penny was dismissed after a jury deadlocked, and he was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide; Penny was later hired by Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm whose cofounder has publicly dismissed introspection as unproductive.
Why was the film’s original third act changed?
The original third act, which addressed a 1993 lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse against Michael Jackson, had to be rewritten because a legal settlement with the accuser included a clause banning any depiction or mention of them in film or television projects.
How does the film’s budget compare to its projected earnings?
With a $155 million production budget, the film needs strong theatrical performance to break even, though current projections of $90–$100 million for the opening weekend suggest it will fall short without significant additional revenue from international markets or ancillary sales.
