Michael biopic underperforms with $61m opening weekend; distributor reviews theatrical run

LOS ANGELES — "Michael," the long-awaited Michael Jackson biopic starring the singer's nephew Jaafar Jackson, opened to a softer-than-expected $61 million domestically over its debut weekend, prompting distributor Lionsgate to begin an internal review of its theatrical strategy, executives confirmed Sunday.

The Antoine Fuqua-directed film, which arrived in 3,950 North American theaters on Friday, April 24, had been tracking in the $85–100 million range as recently as two weeks ago. With a production budget industry sources peg between $150 million and $200 million — before a global marketing spend estimated north of $80 million — the opening represents a significant shortfall for one of the studio's largest bets of the decade.

"We are proud of the film and of Jaafar's extraordinary performance, but the opening did not meet our expectations," Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Adam Fogelson said in a statement issued Sunday afternoon. "We are taking a hard look at our release plan in the weeks ahead to give 'Michael' every chance to find its audience."

Producer Graham King, speaking by phone from London, said the team remained confident in the picture's long-tail prospects. "Bohemian Rhapsody opened to $51 million and went on to make $900 million worldwide," King said. "Music biopics live and die on word of mouth, and ours is just getting started."

Exit polling firm PostTrak gave the film a strong 87% positive score from opening-weekend audiences, with a 76% "definite recommend." However, industry analysts noted the audience skewed older, with 62% of ticket buyers over the age of 35 — a demographic less likely to drive repeat viewings.

The underperformance has immediate downstream effects. Two people familiar with the matter said Lionsgate has paused plans for a previously discussed second installment covering the latter half of Jackson's career, and will delay the film's rollout in several smaller European markets originally slated for May 8 to reassess marketing positioning.

Lionsgate shares fell 9.4% in pre-market trading Monday. The studio is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on May 21.