{"id":607911,"date":"2026-04-26T18:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T18:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607911\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T18:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T18:51:08","slug":"michael-moonwalks-to-97-million-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607911\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Michael\u2019 moonwalks to $97 million opening"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 \u201cMichael,\u201d<\/a> the big-budget Michael Jackson spectacle, shrugged off bad reviews and a troubled production to launch with $97 million in U.S. and Canada theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday, shattering a record debut for music biopics. <\/p>\n

A highly authorized portrayal of the King of Pop, co-produced by the Jackson estate<\/a>, Lionsgate\u2019s \u201cMichael\u201d far surpassed previous biopic top performers like \u201cStraight Outta Compton\u201d (a $60.2 million debut in 2015) and \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d ($51 million in 2018). <\/p>\n

International sales were also strong. \u201cMichael\u201d collected $120.4 million overseas, to give it a $217.4 million global opening \u2014 a new high for a music biopic. Universal picked up distribution in most international markets. <\/p>\n

A few weeks back, estimates for \u201cMichael\u201d were closer to $50 million. Going into the weekend, the studio estimated closer to $70 million. But it wildly overperformed. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, all of the signals were that something like this was possible,\u201d said Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate chairman. \u201cWe were seeing massive engagement with every conceivable audience segment that you could identify.\u201d <\/p>\n

Even in the lucrative market of music biopics, \u201cMichael\u201d was an audacious bet by Lionsgate on an extraordinarily popular but controversial figure. The reputation of Jackson, who died in 2009<\/a> at the age of 50, has been repeatedly tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children. Jackson and his estate have maintained his innocence, though the pop star acknowledged sharing a bedroom with other people\u2019s children. He was acquitted in his sole criminal trial in 2005. <\/p>\n

Some Jackson family members opposed the film. Janet Jackson was uninvolved and doesn\u2019t appear in it. Jackson\u2019s daughter, Paris, called it \u201cfantasy land.\u201d But three years after \u201cLeaving Neverland,\u201d<\/a> the 2009 documentary about Jackson\u2019s alleged sexual abuse of children, \u201cBohemian Rhapsody\u201d producer Graham King announced plans for the biopic. Jackson\u2019s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, was cast to star. <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMichael\u201d had an unusually rocky production. After shooting was completed, producers realized they had made a costly mistake. The third act focused on the accusations of Jordan Chandler, then 13 years old, whom Jackson paid $23 million to in a 1994 settlement. The terms of that settlement barred the Jackson estate from ever mentioning Chandler in a movie. <\/p>\n

A huge chunk of the film had to be cut. Reshoots for as much as $50 million were done at the estate\u2019s expense. Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter John Logan reworked the movie to conclude in 1988, before any accusations were made. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would take issue with the idea that we as a studio or as filmmakers were running around in a panic,\u201d said Fogelson. \u201cIt was definitely a unique and challenging circumstance to figure out how to work through. But it created an opportunity to tell more story than any one film could possibly contain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet as bad as things once looked for \u201cMichael,\u201d the movie turned into a huge hit. The film\u2019s total production cost came close to $200 million. To defray costs, Lionsgate sold international distribution rights to Universal. A sequel is in development. A third film after that, Fogelson said, is \u201cnot inconceivable.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe audience spoke loud and clear,\u201d Fogelson said. \u201cThe portion of Michael\u2019s life that this story tells couldn\u2019t have gotten into those allegations because the allegations themselves hadn\u2019t happened in the period this movie existed. I think the audience is judging it on those terms. We\u2019ll see what happens as we move into the possibility of subsequent films.\u201d<\/p>\n

Critics slammed the film for glossing over some of the less convenient aspects of Jackson\u2019s life. It scored a paltry 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences were far more enthusiastic. \u201cMichael\u201d earned an \u201cA-\u201d CinemaScore. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only human nature to enjoy yourself at the movie theater,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Comscore. \u201cThe movie was perfectly positioned ahead of the start of the summer movie season which launches later this week with the \u2018The Devil Wears Prada 2\u2019 that is also poised to outpace even the most generous opening weekend projections.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opening for \u201cMichael\u201d added to a strong spring for Hollywood boosted by box-office hits like Amazon MGM\u2019s \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d<\/a> and Universal\u2019s \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie.\u201d<\/a> After three weeks atop the box office, the \u201cMario\u201d sequel slid to second place, with $21.2 million. In four weeks, it\u2019s collected $386.5 million domestically and $445 million internationally. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d surged past $600 million worldwide in its sixth weekend of release. The film\u2019s total haul for Amazon MGM stands at $305.3 million domestic and $613.3 million globally. <\/p>\n

Top 10 movies by domestic box office<\/p>\n

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:<\/p>\n

1. \u201cMichael,\u201d $97 million. <\/p>\n

2. \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie,\u201d $21.2 million. <\/p>\n

3. \u201cProject Hail Mary,\u201d $13.2 million. <\/p>\n

4. \u201cLee Cronin\u2019s The Mummy,\u201d $5.6 million. <\/p>\n

5. \u201cThe Drama,\u201d $2.6 million. <\/p>\n

6. \u201cHoppers,\u201d $1.9 million. <\/p>\n

7. \u201cYou, Me & Tuscany,\u201d $1.5 million. <\/p>\n

8. \u201cOver Your Dead Body,\u201d $1.4 million. <\/p>\n

9. \u201cMother Mary,\u201d $1.2 million. <\/p>\n

10. \u201cAmerican Youngboy,\u201d $1.2 million. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 \u201cMichael,\u201d the big-budget Michael Jackson spectacle, shrugged off bad reviews and a troubled production…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[189996,27451,2224,2356,103,88,793,96472,97339,264174,264173,220542,25222,27355,206,216,52261,795],"class_list":{"0":"post-607911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-adam-fogelson","9":"tag-antoine-fuqua","10":"tag-arts-and-entertainment","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-general-news","15":"tag-graham-king","16":"tag-janet-jackson","17":"tag-john-logan","18":"tag-jordan-chandler","19":"tag-lee-cronin","20":"tag-media-and-entertainment-industry","21":"tag-michael-jackson","22":"tag-movies","23":"tag-music","24":"tag-paul-dergarabedian","25":"tag-u-s-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}