The new musical film "Michael", which is the autobiography of the late international pop star Michael Jackson, has been an exceptional success at the global box office, recording the highest opening in the history of the genre.
The film, directed by Antoine Fuqua, broke records to become the highest-grossing film in the history of biopics of all time, grossing $977.4 million worldwide, surpassing Christopher Nolan's seven-time Academy Award-winning film Oppenheimer, which stopped at $975.8 million, according to Box Office Mojo. .
As the film continues to run for its tenth week, film experts say it is only a matter of time before it reaches the $1 billion mark.
Musical success and criticism of "dramatic sterilization"
The film, which hits theaters in April 2026 and traces Jackson's rise from his childhood with The Jackson Five to his ultimate stardom, has become the most successful musical film of all time, surpassing 2018's "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Despite this commercial sweep, the work has been subjected to harsh criticism from cultural circles, as it has been accused of avoiding problematic and historical, controversial aspects of the star's life, specifically the child sexual abuse allegations that followed him before his death in 2009, despite Jackson's innocence and judicial acquittal in 2005.
In a critical review of Euronews' culture department, the film was described as "a crude biography that has been completely controlled by the heirs of the estate, and sterilized to the point of transparency to appear as a marketing excuse to sell more albums to fans."
Costly Behind-the-Scenes Erasure and Reshoot
Film reports and behind-the-scenes reports revealed that the original script plan for the third section included a reference to the accusations made by Gordon Chandler in the 1990s, but the footage was deleted following the rediscovery of a secret historical legal agreement Jackson had made with the boy's family at the time, including a clause that his heirs are legally prohibited from referring to the case in any visual work.
Director Antoine Fuqua told Deadline that the discovery imposed "unique difficulties and legal pressures" that forced the team to rethink the script, forge an alternative military-dramatic path focused entirely on musical legacy, and Jackson's strained relationship with his father Joseph (who played Oscar-nominated Coleman Domingo), bringing the events to a chronological end in 1988, before any public accusations against Jackson emerged.
These adaptations and lengthy additional reshoots raised the film's budget to nearly $200 million, funded by the legacy, making it among the highest-grossing biopics in history.
A second part is on the horizon and a revival for cinema
In a major development, Lionsgate president Adam Vogelsen announced that a second part of "Michael" is in the works, with filming expected to begin later this year or in 2027.
Vogelsen noted that the upcoming work will focus on other iconic stops, most notably his historic show during the break of the 1993 Super Bowl final, evading reporters' definitive answer as to whether the new installment will address the thorny accusations as "a very complex issue."
Michael Jackson's commercial excellence (which relies on his original voice in lyrics and hits Japanese theaters in June) is driving a recent wave of rise and recovery in cinemas globally, along with hits such as "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and "Project Hail Mary," with other major releases expected this week such as "The Devil Wears Prada 2.".
Huge commercial success based on a great musical legacy
The resounding commercial success of "Michael" reflects the continued marketing and fan power of the "King of Pop" even after years of absence, as his works such as "Billie Jean", "Beat It", "Smooth Criminal" and "Black or White" remain a mainstay of global music culture, as well as his acclaimed album "Thriller" Released in 1982, it became the best-selling music album in the history of the music industry.
International artistic circles believe that the directorial and production approach adopted in the film has opened a renewed debate in Hollywood about the "ethics of autobiographical cinema", where critics and filmmakers believe that the intervention of heirs and financial legacies in the financing and drafting of cinematic texts leads to the emptying of the works of their dramatic and historical value and turning them into sterile propaganda materials.
In the case of Michael, the clash between the legal constraints of the discovered "non-disclosure agreement" and the desire to present a complete story forced the makers to amputate more than two decades of the artist's life and settle for the 1980s, presenting the film industry with a structural challenge in how to deal with problematic public figures without falling into the trap of absolute glorification or legal accountability.