A big-budget biopic celebrating Michael Jackson shattered box office records this weekend despite ongoing controversy over the late pop star's alleged sexual abuse of children, raising questions about Hollywood's willingness to sanitize troubled legacies for profit. "Michael" opened with $97 million in U.S. and Canada theaters and collected $120.4 million overseas for a $217.4 million global opening, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Lionsgate's "Michael" far surpassed previous biopic top performers like "Straight Outta Compton," which had a $60.2 million debut 11 years ago, and "Bohemian Rhapsody," which opened to $51 million 8 years ago. Universal picked up distribution in most international markets. The film was described as a highly authorized portrayal of the King of Pop, co-produced by the Jackson estate.
A Troubled Production and Costly Rewrites
The production was unusually rocky, reflecting the challenge of depicting a figure whose artistic achievements remain inseparable from serious allegations. After shooting was completed, producers realized they had made a costly mistake because the third act focused on the accusations of Jordan Chandler, then 13 years old, whom Jackson paid $23 million to in a 1994 settlement 32 years ago. The terms of that settlement barred the Jackson estate from ever mentioning Chandler in a movie.
A huge chunk of the film had to be cut, and reshoots for as much as $50 million were done at the estate's expense. Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter John Logan reworked the movie to conclude in 1988, before any accusations were made. The film's total production cost came close to $200 million. To defray costs, Lionsgate sold international distribution rights to Universal.
It was an audacious bet by Lionsgate on an extraordinarily popular but controversial figure. Jackson died 17 years ago at the age of 50. His reputation had been repeatedly tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children. Jackson and his estate maintained his innocence, though he acknowledged sharing a bedroom with other people's children. He was acquitted in his sole criminal trial 21 years ago.
Family Opposition and Critical Response
Some Jackson family members opposed the film. Janet Jackson was uninvolved and does not appear in it. Jackson's daughter, Paris, called it "fantasy land." Three years after "Leaving Neverland," the 2009 documentary about Jackson's alleged sexual abuse of children, "Bohemian Rhapsody" producer Graham King announced plans for the biopic. Jackson's nephew, Jaafar Jackson, was cast to star.
Critics slammed the film for glossing over some of the less convenient aspects of Jackson's life. It scored 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences were more enthusiastic, giving it an "A-" CinemaScore. Adam Fogelson, Lionsgate chairman, said, "From the beginning, all of the signals were that something like this was possible," and added, "We were seeing massive engagement with every conceivable audience segment that you could identify."
Fogelson said, "The audience spoke loud and clear," and added, "The portion of Michael's life that this story tells couldn't have gotten into those allegations because the allegations themselves hadn't happened in the period this movie existed. I think the audience is judging it on those terms. We'll see what happens as we move into the possibility of subsequent films." A sequel is in development, and Fogelson said a third film after that is "not inconceivable."
Box Office Context
The opening for "Michael" added to a strong spring for Hollywood boosted by box-office hits like Amazon MGM's "Project Hail Mary" and Universal's "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie." After three weeks atop the box office, the "Mario" sequel slid to second place with $21.2 million. In four weeks, it collected $386.5 million domestically and $445 million internationally. Meanwhile, "Project Hail Mary" surged past $600 million worldwide in its sixth weekend of release, with a total haul for Amazon MGM of $305.3 million domestic and $613.3 million globally.
Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Comscore, said, "It's only human nature to enjoy yourself at the movie theater," and added, "The movie was perfectly positioned ahead of the start of the summer movie season which launches later this week with the 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' that is also poised to outpace even the most generous opening weekend projections."
Why This Matters:
The massive commercial success of "Michael" despite its deliberate omission of child sexual abuse allegations raises troubling questions about accountability in entertainment and the industry's willingness to prioritize profit over uncomfortable truths. With the film ending in 1988—before any public accusations—and requiring $50 million in reshoots to avoid legal complications from a settlement with an alleged victim, the project represents a carefully engineered rehabilitation of a contested legacy. The estate's co-production role and the legal constraints that shaped the final cut underscore how wealth and intellectual property control can influence public memory. As studios plan sequels that may eventually address later periods of Jackson's life, the tension between artistic celebration and the voices of those who say they were harmed remains unresolved, with significant implications for how the entertainment industry handles allegations of abuse by powerful figures.