A film that critics rated "rotten" just crossed $1 billion worldwide. That's the strange, defining fact of Michael, the long-delayed Michael Jackson biopic that turned into 2026's biggest box office surprise — and the movie that finally answered whether audiences still wanted the King of Pop's story told on the big screen.
A Release Nearly Three Years in the Making
Michael wrapped principal photography back in May 2024, but it took almost two more years to reach theaters. The film was originally slated for April 2025, pushed to October 2025, and finally landed on April 24, 2026. Each delay traced back to the same problem: the third act.
Early cuts reportedly ran past three and a half hours and included a dramatized version of the 1993 child sexual abuse allegations made by then-13-year-old Jordan Chandler. Once producers discovered that Jackson's decades-old settlement legally barred any depiction of Chandler in film or television, the back half of the script had to be reworked — an operation that added tens of millions of dollars to an already substantial $155 million budget. The version that reached theaters ends before that period entirely, focusing on Jackson's rise from child prodigy to global superstar.
- Director: Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer)
- Writer: John Logan (Gladiator, Skyfall)
- Producer: Graham King (Bohemian Rhapsody)
- Budget: $155 million
- Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes
- Songs featured: Roughly 30 Jackson tracks and re-created performances
Who Made It, and Who's In It
Antoine Fuqua directs from a John Logan screenplay, with Oscar-winning producer Graham King — who previously shepherded Bohemian Rhapsody to the screen — leading production alongside the Michael Jackson Estate, including executors John Branca and John McClain.
The casting choice that generated the most buzz, though, was the lead role itself. Jaafar Jackson — Michael's real-life nephew and the son of Jermaine Jackson — makes his acting debut in the title role, having spent years training in his uncle's vocal range, speech patterns, and choreography. He's surrounded by a stacked supporting cast: Colman Domingo as Joe Jackson, Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Miles Teller as attorney John Branca, Laura Harrier as Motown executive Suzanne de Passe, Kat Graham as Diana Ross, and Larenz Tate as Berry Gordy.
What the Movie Actually Covers
Michael traces its subject's life from his childhood in Gary, Indiana, through his years fronting the Jackson 5, his split from the group after 1979's Off the Wall, and into the early solo stardom that made him "the King of Pop." Reports suggest a second film covering the Thriller and Bad eras is still being considered, though Lionsgate hasn't confirmed anything beyond calling it likely.
The production leaned hardest into those re-created performances, and it paid off: even critics who panned the film's storytelling singled out its reconstruction of the "Thriller" video and stadium concert sequences as genuine highlights, praising the production's attention to choreography and staging detail.
- Jaafar Jackson is Michael's real nephew — the son of Jermaine Jackson.
- Young Michael is played by 9-year-old Juliano Krue Valdi in early Jackson 5 scenes.
- Michael is Lionsgate's first-ever film to cross $1 billion worldwide.
- The film's story ends in 1988, before the allegations period begins.
The Numbers: A Biopic Unlike Any Other
Michael opened to $97 million domestically and $217 million globally over its first weekend — nearly double most analysts' projections, and enough to make it the biggest biopic debut ever, ahead of both Straight Outta Compton and Bohemian Rhapsody. It kept climbing from there, eventually finishing its run at $1.02 billion worldwide.
Michael now ranks as the highest-grossing biographical film ever made, ahead of Oppenheimer ($983M) and Bohemian Rhapsody ($911M), and Lionsgate's highest-grossing release of all time, surpassing The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($865M).
Critics vs. Audiences: A Familiar Split
The reviews tell a very different story than the ticket sales. Michael holds a "rotten" 38% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 39 out of 100 on Metacritic, with reviewers describing it as a safe, sanitized retelling that avoids the harder chapters of Jackson's life.
Audiences disagreed almost entirely. Michael earned a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes' Popcornmeter from more than 10,000 verified ratings, plus an "A-" CinemaScore grade from opening-weekend exit polls — a metric that reliably predicts strong box office holds.
Where to Watch Michael Now
Michael moved to digital rental and purchase on June 9, 2026 — less than seven weeks after its theatrical debut — through Prime Video, Apple TV, and Sky Store, with physical media following shortly after. As of this fall, it's streaming in the U.S. as part of the Starz add-on tier on Peacock, and it premiered on JioHotstar's Peacock Hub in India on August 29, deliberately timed to Michael Jackson's birthday.
The reviews will likely keep calling Michael hagiography, and the debate over what the film leaves out isn't going away. But with more than $1 billion in worldwide grosses and a breakout debut from Jaafar Jackson, Michael has already secured its place as the most commercially successful music biopic ever made — whether or not the story it tells is the complete one.
