The new musical film about Michael Jackson has stormed the worldwide box office, scoring the highest opening weekend ever for a biopic.
The singer’s nephew Jaafar Jackson portrays him in Michael, which has taken $217million (£160m) globally since it opened on Wednesday.
The Queen musical Bohemian Rhapsody, which launched with $124million (£91m) in 2018 and starred Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, previously held the box office record for a musical biopic.
But Michael also surpassed the $180million (£133m) taken by 2024’s Oppenheimer, giving Michael the biggest worldwide opening weekend for a biopic of any kind.
Adam Fogelson, chairman of the film’s US distributor Lionsgate, said: “You don’t deliver this figure unless you’re seeing huge numbers across every conceivable demographic. (Audiences) are clearly having a blast.”
The film has gone down much better with audiences than it did with critics, several of whom complained that it depicted a “sanitised” version of Jackson’s career.
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Reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes recorded a significant gap between the 38% average score awarded by critics and the 97% average rating from audiences.
The film’s release follows a string of musical biopics over the last decade, which are seen by Hollywood as reliable box office hits.
Queen, Sir Elton John, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Amy Winehouse, NWA, Robbie Williams, and Whitney Houston have all received the cinematic treatment in recent years.
Michael is financially backed by the late superstar’s estate and uses his original vocals for the musical numbers, which dominate the film.
Michael does not include any mention of the child sexual abuse accusations that were made against the singer.
Jackson always maintained his innocence and was found not guilty of child molestation in 2005.
Filmmakers originally intended to include references to some of the allegations, but the footage was scrapped after the rediscovery of a historic non-disclosure agreement Jackson made with one of his accusers.
The third act of Michael had been due to centre on accusations made by Jordan Chandler in the 1990s, but a settlement Jackson made with the boy’s family at the time included a clause that prohibited the singer’s estate from ever mentioning him in any movie.
The film was reworked, and a series of reshoots took place after the discovery, and Michael now concludes in 1988, before any accusations were made.
Director Antoine Fuqua told Deadline over the weekend that the rediscovery of the NDA led to a “tough period” because the team had to “rethink everything.
“All movies have different challenges, but this one was unique,” he said, adding that the team got around the issue by refocusing on Jackson’s musical career.
The resulting film leans heavily on recreated concert performances and examines the strained relationship with his father, Joseph, played in the film by Oscar nominee Colman Domingo.
The costly reshoots contributed to the film’s sizeable price tag, reported to be around $200million (£148m), making it one of the most expensive biopics of all time.
Michael opened on the same weekend throughout most of the world, but it is still to launch in Japan, where the local distributor has scheduled a June release date.
The film is part of a recent upward swing for cinemas, after a string of box office hits such as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Project Hail Mary, with other major releases including The Devil Wears Prada 2, this weekend set to follow.
Jackson was known for worldwide hits such as Billie Jean, Beat It, Smooth Criminal, and Black or White, while 1982’s Thriller is the biggest-selling album of all time.
