While critics gave the film a low rating, sitting at 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, crowds clearly loved the film, giving it a 97 percent.
The biopic covering the life of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, has opened to record-breaking numbers. Overcoming poor reviews and production issues, the film raked in nearly $100 million during its opening weekend in the US.
Comscore estimates released on Sunday, which stars Jaafar Jackson, the late pop star’s nephew, revealed that the film earned $97 million domestically. Worldwide, the film brought in $217.4 million.
USA Today reported that it was "easily the biggest opening weekend for a musical biopic in history." The 2015 film Straight Outta Compton, which focused on NWA, debuted at $60 million domestically, while the 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody brought in $51 million on opening weekend.
The film, titled Michael, has also snagged the second-biggest opening weekend at the box office for 2026 so far, coming in behind The Super Mario Galaxy Movie but ahead of Project Hail Mary.
The film covers Jackson’s life from the 1960s through the late 1980s. Reports stated that the film was initially set to dramatize the allegations that Jackson had sexually abused Jordan Chandler, then 13, in 1993, with the film being set to depict Jackson as being innocent. However, after these scenes had been shot, producers found a legal agreement that prohibited the dramatization of the Chandler family in a movie, reportedly leading to massive reshoots. The film as released to theaters focuses on Jackson’s famed music career and his tense relationship with his father, Joe Jackson.
While critics gave the film a low rating, sitting at 38 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, crowds clearly loved the film, giving it a 97 percent. Critics called the film a "botched job," "sloppy and soulless," and a "cash grab." Moviegoers polled by Cinemascore gave it an average rating of A-, while fans shared videos to social media of dance parties taking place in theaters.
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