The biographical film about the legendary pop icon Michael Jackson, titled Michael, has made a remarkable debut at the box office. The movie has generated $97 million in the domestic market and an impressive $217 million globally during its opening weekend. This achievement marks a new milestone for music biopics, surpassing the previous record held by the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton, which earned $60 million domestically in its first week.
In addition to breaking records, Michael has outperformed other successful music-related films. For instance, the 2018 Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody initially made $51 million on its opening weekend but eventually grossed a staggering $910 million worldwide. Other notable biopics include Elvis (2022), which opened with just over $31 million, and Rocketman (2019), which surpassed $25 million. Earlier releases like Walk the Line (2005) and Ray (2004) also had strong starts, with earnings of $22 million and $20 million respectively.
Despite the financial success, Michael has not been without controversy. The film is currently ranked as the second biggest U.S. opening weekend of the year, only behind The Super Mario Movie. However, it has faced significant criticism from reviewers who argue that the film “whitewashes” Jackson’s legacy by ending its narrative in 1988—years before multiple allegations of child sexual abuse against him surfaced.
On the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a critics’ score of 38 percent, which is categorized as “Rotten.” This suggests that most professional critics have given negative reviews. However, the audience score tells a different story. With a 97 percent “Fresh” rating, the public has shown overwhelming support for the film. While some speculate that these numbers could be influenced by “review bombing,” other platforms such as IMDb and Letterboxd indicate a positive reception.
IMDb gives the film, directed by Antoine Fuqua of Training Day, an aggregate rating of 7.6 out of 10. Meanwhile, the film-based social media platform Letterboxd reports an average of 3.6 stars out of 5, with most ratings falling between 4 and 5 stars.
A one-star review published in The Independent by Clarisse Loughrey criticized the film’s approach, stating: “The draw of Michael, Graham King’s attempt to tell the story of the King of Pop, isn’t the desire to understand Jackson as a person or artist, or to grapple with the weight of his legacy as one of the most pivotal cultural figures of the 20th century. It exists to be consumed as an act of allegiance, as proof of fandom. It resists story in favor of content, in making sure fans see what they expect to see, whether that be the ‘Thriller’ video or ‘Bad’ performed live at Wembley in 1988.”
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