‘Michael’ shatters music biopic records with $US217.4m worldwide debut
Michael, the big-budget biopic of Michael Jackson directed by Antoine Fuqua, moonwalked past expectations to claim the biggest opening ever for a music biopic. According to studio estimates, the film earned $US97 million ($A136 million) in the US and Canada and $US217.4 million ($A304.7 million) worldwide.
The authorised portrayal, co-produced by the Jackson estate and starring his nephew Jaafar Jackson, far outpaced previous genre leaders. Straight Outta Compton launched with $US60.2 million ($A84.4 million) domestically in 2015, while Bohemian Rhapsody opened to $US51 million ($A71 million) in 2018.
Internationally, Michael collected $US120.4 million ($A168.7 million) in its first frame, with Universal handling most overseas markets and Lionsgate releasing in North America. Pre-release forecasts undershot the result by a wide margin. A few weeks ago, domestic projections hovered near $US50 million ($A70 million), rising to about $US70 million ($A98 million) heading into the weekend.
“From the beginning, all of the signals were that something like this was possible,” said Lionsgate chairman Adam Fogelson, adding that the studio saw “massive engagement with every conceivable audience segment.” The film arrives with a complicated legacy. Jackson’s reputation has been repeatedly tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children.
He and his estate have maintained his innocence, though he acknowledged sharing a bedroom with other people’s children, and he was acquitted in his sole criminal trial in 2005. Some family members opposed the project: Janet Jackson was uninvolved and does not appear, and Jackson’s daughter Paris described it as “fantasy land.” Michael also endured a tumultuous production.
After filming, producers discovered the third act centred on accusations by Jordan Chandler, then 13, whom Jackson paid $US23 million ($A32 million) in a 1994 settlement. The settlement’s terms barred the estate from ever mentioning Chandler in a movie, forcing substantial cuts and reshoots reported at up to $US50 million ($A70 million) at the estate’s expense.
Fuqua and screenwriter John Logan reworked the film to conclude in 1988, before any accusations surfaced. Critics were largely unsparing, giving the film a 38 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences were considerably more receptive, awarding it an A- on CinemaScore.
Three years after Leaving Neverland, a documentary about Jackson’s alleged sexual abuse of children, Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King announced plans for the biopic; Jaafar Jackson was subsequently cast in the lead. A sequel to Michael is already in development, and the studio has not ruled out a third film.