‘Michael’ cashes in with biggest biopic opening of all time despite controversy
Michael, the film depicting part of the life of Michael Jackson, has cashed in with the biggest box office opening weekend of all time for a biopic.
The movie, in which the singer’s nephew Jaafar Jackson takes on the role of the ‘King of Pop’, has weathered the storm of an onslaught of negative reviews and production controversies to somehow come out on top, taking in a massive $217 million worldwide over its opening weekend.
The money raked in by Michael surpasses the previous records set by other biopics in the past, according to The Guardian, including Oppenheimer, which had a $180.4 worldwide opening in 2023, and Bohemian Rhapsody, which opened with $124 million in 2018.
However, despite the success from a commercial point of view, the film has been panned by critics, mainly for its omission of the more controversial aspects of Jackson’s life, including the allegations of child sexual abuse against him.
The film had originally shot an ending which depicted these accusations, but was then forced to spend $15 million on reshoots after it was discovered that a clause in the settlement with Evan Chandler, who accused Jackson of sexually abusing his 13-year-old son in 1993, prevented the production from depicting or even mentioning the child’s name.
Subsequently, a number of people have spoken out against the film and its allegedly convenient ending, including one of the subjects of the Leaving Neverland documentary, which explored the accusations.
After reaching out to victims of sexual abuse to tell them “you are not alone”, James Safechuck said, “There are other survivors out there that understand what you’re going through and that are there with you. And that if you’re feeling all the feels, then lean into people that are close to you, lean into people that support you and that give you love, and know that you’re not alone.”
Safechuck had shared allegations of being abused by Jackson as a child alongside Wade Robson at his Neverland ranch in California, as part of the 2019 film.
Separately, Leaving Neverland’s director Dan Reed also criticised the movie over its release, claiming that Jackson was supposedly “worse than Jeffrey Epstein”.
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