The controversial Michael Jackson biopic<\/a>, which tells the story of the King of Pop’s life from his time in the Jackson 5 through the Bad tour in the late 1980s and elides his child sexual abuse allegations, debuted in theaters on April 24. The Antoine Fuqua film stars Jaafar Jackson as his real-life uncle, opposite Colman Domingo as Michael’s father Joseph Jackson, Nia Long as his mother Katherine Scruse-Jackson, Miles Teller as his manager John Branca, Kendrick Sampson as his co-producer Quincy Jones, and Mike Myers as CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff.<\/p>\n Side A \u00b7 33⅓ RPM \ud83e\udddfThriller’Cause this is thriller<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc8eBillie \u26a1Beat ItJust beat it<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd7aMoonwalkMotown 25<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa9BadShamone!<\/p>\n DROP THE NEEDLE \u2192<\/p>\n 01<\/p>\n Released in November 1982, Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. The producer behind its glossy fusion of pop, funk, rock and disco had already worked with Michael on Off the Wall and would return for Bad. Who is he?<\/p>\n \n AGeorge Martin \u2713 Correct! Quincy Jones \u2014 Michael met him on the set of The Wiz (1978), and Jones went on to produce the trio of albums that defined Michael’s solo career: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987). Thriller has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide. George Martin produced The Beatles. Berry Gordy ran Motown. Rod Temperton wrote the title track but didn’t produce.<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is Quincy Jones. George Martin was The Beatles’ producer. Berry Gordy founded Motown and signed the Jackson 5 but wasn’t behind the boards on Thriller. Rod Temperton wrote the title track \u201cThriller\u201d (plus \u201cRock with You\u201d and \u201cOff the Wall\u201d) but it was Quincy Jones who produced all three of Michael’s adult-era masterpieces.<\/p>\n NEXT \u2192<\/p>\n 02<\/p>\n On May 16, 1983, NBC aired the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever special. Dressed in a sequined jacket and single white glove, Michael unveiled the moonwalk to the world during a solo performance of which song?<\/p>\n \n ARock with You \u2713 Correct! Billie Jean. After performing Jackson 5 hits with his brothers, Michael took the stage alone for a lip-synced \u201cBillie Jean\u201d and glided backwards across it \u2014 a move he’d been refining from street dancers and mime technique. Motown 25 became one of the most-watched TV specials of the 80s and cemented Michael as the biggest solo star on the planet.<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is Billie Jean. \u201cRock with You\u201d and \u201cDon’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough\u201d are from Off the Wall. \u201cBeat It\u201d is on Thriller but wasn’t the Motown 25 solo number. It was \u201cBillie Jean\u201d \u2014 mime-walked, glove-flashed, and watched by an estimated 47 million Americans live.<\/p>\n NEXT \u2192<\/p>\n 03<\/p>\n Long before Thriller, an eleven-year-old Michael fronted his brothers on the Jackson 5’s first Motown single \u2014 a bouncing piece of bubblegum soul that hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970. What was the song?<\/p>\n \n AI’ll Be There \u2713 Correct! \u201cI Want You Back\u201d \u2014 released October 1969, written by The Corporation (Berry Gordy and his in-house team) and topping the Hot 100 by January 1970. The Jackson 5 then did something no act had done before: their next three singles (\u201cABC,\u201d \u201cThe Love You Save,\u201d \u201cI’ll Be There\u201d) also all hit #1, giving them four straight chart-toppers to start their career.<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is \u201cI Want You Back.\u201d \u201cABC,\u201d \u201cThe Love You Save,\u201d and \u201cI’ll Be There\u201d were the group’s next three singles \u2014 each also hit #1, making them the first act ever to see their first four Motown releases top the Hot 100. But \u201cI Want You Back,\u201d from October 1969, was the one that broke them.<\/p>\n NEXT \u2192<\/p>\n 04<\/p>\n Thriller’s genre-smashing rock crossover \u201cBeat It\u201d features a blistering guitar solo recorded as a favour to Quincy Jones \u2014 reportedly for a case of beer, with no pay and no credit on the original sleeve. Which rock legend played it?<\/p>\n \n ASlash \u2713 Correct! Eddie Van Halen \u2014 Van Halen were touring when Quincy Jones phoned. Eddie dropped by Westlake Studios, cut two takes for free (and, yes, allegedly a case of beer), and was so uncredited on the first pressings that fans didn’t realise it was him. The solo helped \u201cBeat It\u201d become a smash on MTV and rock radio at a time when black artists rarely crossed that line.<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is Eddie Van Halen. Slash played on Michael’s later song \u201cBlack or White.\u201d Jimmy Page is Led Zeppelin. Prince was famously offered the duet on \u201cBad\u201d but turned it down. Eddie Van Halen’s \u201cBeat It\u201d solo \u2014 recorded in a single afternoon, uncredited, supposedly paid in beer \u2014 is one of the most famous guitar solos in pop history.<\/p>\n NEXT \u2192<\/p>\n 05<\/p>\n In January 1985, Michael co-wrote the charity single \u201cWe Are the World\u201d for USA for Africa \u2014 recorded in a single overnight session with 46 superstars after the American Music Awards. Which fellow soul icon shared the writing credit with him?<\/p>\n \n AStevie Wonder \u2713 Correct! Lionel Richie \u2014 the two wrote the song in about a week, with Quincy Jones producing. Harry Belafonte had the original idea, Ken Kragen organised the session, and a handwritten studio sign told arriving superstars to \u201cCheck your egos at the door.\u201d It sold over 20 million copies and won four Grammys including Record and Song of the Year.<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is Lionel Richie. Stevie Wonder sang on the record and helped in the studio but didn’t co-write it. Paul McCartney collaborated with Michael on \u201cThe Girl Is Mine\u201d and \u201cSay Say Say,\u201d not this one. Smokey Robinson wrote at Motown. Richie and Jackson wrote \u201cWe Are the World\u201d together in about a week, with Quincy Jones producing.<\/p>\n NEXT \u2192<\/p>\n 06<\/p>\n Released in December 1983, the nearly 14-minute \u201cThriller\u201d short film \u2014 with its werewolf cold open, red leather jacket and graveyard zombie choreography \u2014 changed the music video forever. Which filmmaker directed it?<\/p>\n \n AMartin Scorsese \u2713 Correct! John Landis \u2014 Michael had loved Landis’ 1981 horror-comedy An American Werewolf in London and specifically asked him to direct. Special-effects maestro Rick Baker handled the werewolf\/zombie makeup, Vincent Price delivered the iconic rap at the end, and the making-of documentary became one of the best-selling VHS tapes ever. Scorsese later directed \u201cBad.\u201d Bob Giraldi directed \u201cBeat It.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is John Landis \u2014 fresh off 1981’s An American Werewolf in London, which is why Michael picked him. Scorsese would direct the \u201cBad\u201d video four years later. De Palma didn’t do a MJ video. Bob Giraldi directed \u201cBeat It.\u201d Landis also made the 35-minute making-of special that turned into a home-video sensation.<\/p>\n NEXT \u2192<\/p>\n 07<\/p>\n When Bad arrived in August 1987, Michael didn’t just follow Thriller \u2014 he set a Billboard record that no album had achieved before. What was the milestone?<\/p>\n \n AFirst album with five #1 singles on the Hot 100 \u2713 Correct! Five #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 \u2014 a first for any album. The run: \u201cI Just Can’t Stop Loving You\u201d (with Siedah Garrett), \u201cBad,\u201d \u201cThe Way You Make Me Feel,\u201d \u201cMan in the Mirror,\u201d and \u201cDirty Diana.\u201d Bad also launched Michael’s first world tour as a solo artist and featured the Martin Scorsese-directed title-track video opposite a young Wesley Snipes.<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is five #1 singles on the Hot 100. Diamond certification wasn’t created until 1999. The first album to debut at #1 was Elton John’s Captain Fantastic (1975). Simultaneous CD\/vinyl releases weren’t a Bad-specific milestone. Bad’s five chart-toppers \u2014 from \u201cI Just Can’t Stop Loving You\u201d through \u201cDirty Diana\u201d \u2014 was the record no album had ever hit before.<\/p>\n NEXT \u2192<\/p>\n 08<\/p>\n Michael is universally known as the \u201cKing of Pop,\u201d but the nickname was specifically popularised by a close friend who bestowed it on him while presenting him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989. Who was she?<\/p>\n \n ADiana Ross \u2713 Correct! Elizabeth Taylor \u2014 a close friend of Michael’s since the 80s \u2014 called him \u201cthe true king of pop, rock and soul\u201d while presenting the Soul Train Heritage Award in March 1989. He embraced the moniker, eventually insisting media outlets use it when referring to him. Diana Ross had mentored him at Motown. Oprah did the famous 1993 Neverland interview. Whitney Houston was a peer and collaborator on USA for Africa.<\/p>\n \u2717 Off the beat. The answer is Elizabeth Taylor \u2014 at the Soul Train Heritage Award in March 1989, she hailed him as \u201cthe true king of pop, rock and soul.\u201d Diana Ross was his Motown mentor. Oprah Winfrey later did the landmark 1993 living-room interview at Neverland. Whitney Houston sang on \u201cWe Are the World\u201d but didn’t coin the nickname. Taylor and Michael were genuinely close friends.<\/p>\n REVEAL MY SCORE \u2192<\/p>\n \n End of Side B \u00b7 Stylus Up \ud83c\udfa4<\/p>\n \n \/ 8\n <\/p>\n Moonwalker \u2014 or still warming up the turntable?<\/p>\n \u2934 PLAY AGAIN<\/p>\n Per Variety, as of Sunday morning, Michael is projected to conclude its opening weekend with a 3-day total of $97 million at the domestic box office. In addition to more than surpassing Straight Outta Compton’s $60.2 million to mark the best opening weekend in history for a music biopic, this total sees the new biopic launching at No. 1 at the domestic box office.<\/p>\n That makes it the first movie to unseat the smash hit The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which is the highest-grossing movie of 2026 worldwide and has topped the domestic box office for three consecutive weekends. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the first 2026 movie to have been No. 1 for three weekends in a row. It seems unlikely that Michael will either follow in its footsteps or break that record, considering the fact that the upcoming blockbuster sequel The Devil Wears Prada 2 is set to debut in theaters during its sophomore weekend.<\/p>\n It is ultimately unknown what the theatrical break-even point for 2026’s Michael<\/a> is. While the movie’s production budget is reportedly more than $165 million, making it more expensive than multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger, the fact that it is a Lionsgate production makes its potential for success more opaque. Lionsgate is known for offsetting the majority of their production budgets with international presales, lowering the benchmark past which their movies can be considered profitable.<\/p>\n However, it seems like Michael could very well be on a path toward becoming a major box office hit. In fact, if it follows the unusually steep trajectory of the 2018 biopic smash Bohemian Rhapsody (which debuted with $51.1 million and eventually climbed to $910.8 million worldwide, becoming the first and so far only music biopic to pass the $300 million milestone), it could potentially become the first billion-dollar biopic.<\/p>\n While critics’ Michael reviews<\/a>, which have earned it a dismal 38% score on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to Bohemian Rhapsody’s 60%), do not bear this possibility out, the movie has performed extraordinarily well with audiences so far. It has earned a Verified Hot score of 97% on the RT Popcornmeter (Bohemian Rhapsody earned 85%) and a CinemaScore of A- (Bohemian Rhapsody got an A), which could indicate that it will receive a huge word-of-mouth surge in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n This Weekend’s Domestic Box Office Top 5<\/p>\n Below, see the full domestic Top 5 chart for the weekend:<\/p>\n #<\/p>\n Title<\/p>\n 3-Day Total<\/p>\n Cumulative (Domestic)<\/p>\n 1<\/p>\n Michael<\/p>\n $97 million<\/p>\n $97 million (weekend 1)<\/p>\n 2<\/p>\n The Super Mario Galaxy Movie<\/p>\n $21.2 million<\/p>\n $384 million (weekend 4)<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Project Hail Mary<\/p>\n $13.2 million<\/p>\n $305 million (weekend 6)<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n Lee Cronin’s The Mummy<\/p>\n $5.6 million<\/p>\n $23.4 million (weekend 2)<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n The Drama<\/p>\n $2.6 million<\/p>\n $44.8 million (weekend 4)<\/p>\n With Michael debuting at No. 1, the previous Top 4 titles have been pushed down one spot apiece, though they all have had relatively slim week-on-week drops. Super Mario Galaxy is falling just 42% in its fourth weekend, the Ryan Gosling sci-fi smash Project Hail Mary<\/a> is dropping (which is one of its biggest drops ever, despite being so slim), Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is falling 58% (which is admirably low for a horror title, as the frontloaded genre tends to have sophomore drops of 60% or more), and A24’s buzzy The Drama is only dropping 46%.<\/p>\n
\n How Well Do You Know Michael Jackson’s Music?
\n \u201cWho’s Bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
JeanShe’s just a girl<\/p>\n
\n BQuincy Jones
\n CBerry Gordy
\n DRod Temperton\n <\/p>\n
\n BDon’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
\n CBillie Jean
\n DBeat It\n <\/p>\n
\n BABC
\n CI Want You Back
\n DThe Love You Save\n <\/p>\n
\n BEddie Van Halen
\n CJimmy Page
\n DPrince\n <\/p>\n
\n BLionel Richie
\n CPaul McCartney
\n DSmokey Robinson\n <\/p>\n
\n BJohn Landis
\n CBrian De Palma
\n DBob Giraldi\n <\/p>\n
\n BFirst album certified diamond
\n CFirst album to debut at #1
\n DFirst album released simultaneously on CD and vinyl\n <\/p>\n
\n BOprah Winfrey
\n CElizabeth Taylor
\n DWhitney Houston\n <\/p>\n
\n Your King of Pop Rank\n <\/p>\n![\"Katie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777223349_902_katie-staring-out-from-behind-parchment-on-the-dolby-poster-for-lee-cronin-s-the-mummy.jpg\"\/)
\n Katie staring out from behind parchment on the Dolby poster for Lee Cronin’s The Mummy\u00a9 Warner Bros. \/ Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n
![\"michael-poster.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/michael-poster.jpg\"\/)
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