The controversial Michael Jackson biopic Michael has banked $97 million at the domestic box office and $217 million globally on its opening weekend, setting a new record for a music biopic.
The impressive performance takes the film past the previous record holder, the 2015 N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which made $60 million domestically on its opening weekend.
It also exceeds the box-office takings of the 2018 Queen movie Bohemian Rhapsody, which made only $51 million on its opening weekend but went on to rake in a total of $910 million worldwide before it left cinemas.
2022’s Elvis made just over $31 million domestically on its opening weekend, while 2019’s Elton John film Rocketman exceeded $25 million, 2005 Johnny Cash movie Walk the Line made $22 million and 2004 Ray Charles biopic Ray opened to $20 million.
Michael’s strong start has also given it the second biggest U.S. opening weekend of the year, behind only The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
The musical film has been heavily criticized by reviewers, many of whom claimed that the film “whitewashed” Jackson’s legacy by ending its story in 1988, years before multiple child sexual abuse allegations against the singer emerged.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critics’ score of just 38 percent at the time of writing – a “Rotten” rating indicating that the majority of critics gave negative reviews.
However, the audience score, voted on by members of the public, indicates a resoundingly positive reception, with Rotten Tomatoes reporting a 97 percent “Fresh” rating.
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While it is possible for these numbers to be manipulated in a process known as “review bombing,” other audience feedback platforms suggest that the controversial film has received a warm welcome among the general public.
On IMDB, the film, directed by Training Day’s Antoine Fuqua, has an aggregate rating of 7.6 out of 10. The film-based social media site Letterboxd, meanwhile, has seen the movie earn an average rating of 3.6 stars out of 5, with most ratings between 4 and 5 stars.
In a one-star review of Michael for The Independent, critic Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “The draw of Michael, Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King’s turn at the life of the King of Pop, isn’t the desire to understand Jackson as a person or as an 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.”