The imminent release of the highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic, simply titled ‘Michael’, is sure to further launch the legendary artist into the charts. However, this week Michael Jackson is in the news for that very reason. And it is not the only record that has been broken, nor will it be broken in the coming months. In fact, it wasn’t even necessary for the biopic to come out for it to also break records.
For the first time since 1984, ‘Thriller’ has returned to the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot 100. Boosted by both the spooky season and the lack of competition on the chart, the iconic song has risen from number 32 to 10th place this week. With this feat, Jackson achieves another unprecedented milestone, becoming the first artist in music history to enter the top 10 of the Hot 100 in 6 different decades, from the 70s to now.
The machinery has already started rolling and the fever for Michael Jackson will only grow over the next year, similar to what happened with Queen and her ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. In fact, everything indicates that the biopic effect will gain much more strength with the King of Pop. I refer to the data: in less than 24 hours, the trailer for ‘Michael’ became the most viewed in the history of musical biopics, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the same period, the preview of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ achieved 57.6 million views on YouTube worldwide, on May 15, 2018. We are talking about what shortly after was the highest-grossing musical biopic in history. ‘Michael’, which will be about the most iconic figure in pop history, has received 116.2 million views worldwide. Almost double.
What can we expect from the Michael Jackson biopic?
The numbers are not the only thing that will unite Jackson’s film with Queen’s. Graham King is once again the producer of the film, so the most sensible thing is to expect ‘Michael’ to follow the same line as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Of course, the spectacular nature of the trailer shows this.
We will surely enjoy the recreation of the ‘Thriller’ video clip and the recording of the album itself, just as we did with the Live Aid sequence of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, but everything indicates that historical or chronological errors will also return in the film directed by Antoine Fuqua.
This was stated by Paris Jackson, Michael’s daughter, who is in the news today for asking people on TikTok not to make the mistake of consuming cocaine, as she did. About the film, he said: “I read one of the first drafts of the script and gave them some notes about what was dishonest or didn’t sit well with me and when they didn’t go in that direction I moved on with my life. “They are not my monkeys, they are not my circus.” She also described the film as a “sweetened” version of her father’s life.
Of course, one of the biggest unknowns of the film will be its treatment of the child sexual abuse accusations against the singer. Graham King, producer of the film, told Variety last year that his intention is to “humanize, but not sugarcoat” and that he will present “the most compelling and impartial story” possible.
It should also be mentioned that another of the main producers of the film is John Branca, lawyer and representative of Jackson’s estate who in turn will be played in the same film by actor Miles Teller.
Dan Reed, director of the controversial documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’, commented on this in a column in The Guardian after reading the script for ‘Michael’: “It seems that those who made the film were locked in a room with John Branca.” He called the film “surprisingly misleading.” We will have to wait: ‘Michael’ will be released in theaters on April 24, 2026.
