Jaafar Jackson ‘In “Michael.”
Lionsgate/Glen Wilson
The long-awaited Michael Jackson biopic Michael is here, but will his story continue?
After two delays in Michael’s release date — it was originally set to premiere on April 18, 2025, before it was pushed Oct. 3, 2025 — Michael opened in international territories earlier this week before making its North American premiere on Friday.
Starring Michael Jackson’s nephew/Jermaine Jackson’s son, Jaafar, in the title role, the chronicle of the King of Pop’s life tracks the singer as a 10-year-old (Juliano Valde) with The Jackson 5 through his tour supporting his Bad album in 1988.
After the final shot in the movie fades to black, a title card pops up that simply reads, “His Story Continues” — an unmistakable tipoff that there is more Michael story to tell. “His Story,” of course, is an obvious play on the title of Jackson’s greatest hits album release, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, in June 1995.
The big question, of course, is whether the film will make enough money at the box office to justify a second big-screen chapter, a question that any studio, let alone Michael’s studio, Lionsgate, faces.
Lionsgate film chair Adam Fogelson told The Hollywood Reporter at Michael’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday, though, that there’s another crucial element at play, which is the film’s audience.
“We absolutely have more story to tell,” Fogelson told THR. “We have prepared for that moment. And if the audience reinforces that they’re ready for more, we’re prepared to give it to them sooner rather than later.”
Michael producer Graham King, who also produced the Best Picture Oscar-nominated Freddie Mercury and Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018, seems to be concentrating more on the now than he is on the future — but the idea of a Michael sequel is definitely on his mind.
“We’re definitely kicking around some ideas,” King told THR on the Michael red carpet on Monday. “We’ll see what happens very soon, but right now, I have so much anxiety about people seeing this one.”
Making ‘Michael’ Profitable Will Be A Tall Order
Bringing the first part of Michael Jackson’s story to the big screen hasn’t been cheap. According to Variety, the film had a $200 million budget before marketing costs, partly because scenes including child molestation allegations against Jackson were cut from the film and a new ending needed to be shot.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the scenes were much of the film’s third act. As such, THR noted that “a past accuser had reached a settlement with the estate guaranteeing he would never be depicted in any future commercial projects,” so the film had to go back into production for 22 more days to film what audiences are seeing in the final cut.
At that point, according to THR, “a plan was pushed to studio partners to split the film into two separate movies.”
As for the first film, Hollywood trade outlets including THR and Variety are projecting that Michael will earn $150 million at the worldwide box office in its first weekend. If that projection holds and theater owners take half of the box office, which is a standard amount, Michael will be $75 million into the $200 million it needs to recoup for production costs.
Again, since that production spend doesn’t include marketing expenses, residuals and other expenses, Michael is facing a tall order on its path to profitability.
Lionsgate announced in an email on Friday that Michael earned $12.6 million in North American theaters on Thursday, which includes $3.8 million in ticket sales from special fan screenings on Wednesday night. The studio is projecting a $70 million-plus opening for the film, which falls in line with pre-release projections by Variety and THR.
Michael opened in 82 international markets on Wednesday and earned $18.2 million in its opening day, according to Lionsgate. Universal Pictures is distributing Michael internationally.
Michael opens in 3,955 North American venues on Friday, which includes 1,700 IMAX and premium large format screens.