Antoine Fuqua's Michael — the Michael Jackson biopic three years in the making — opens in theaters on April 24, 2026, distributed by Lionsgate domestically and Universal internationally. Early tracking projects a domestic opening north of $60 million, which would set a new record for musical biopics, surpassing Straight Outta Compton's $60 million opening in 2015 and Bohemian Rhapsody's $51 million debut in 2018.
The film stars Jaafar Jackson — Michael's nephew — in his feature film debut. The cast includes Nia Long, Colman Domingo, Larenz Tate, and Laura Harrier. The runtime is three and a half hours, which signals the scope Fuqua was building toward. The story covers Jackson's life from his years with the Jackson 5 through his early solo career.
Casting Jaafar was the right call, for reasons beyond the obvious. The physical resemblance would have been notable regardless, but the choice also sidesteps the thornier question of representation that biographical performances of Black cultural icons always carry. There's a directness to having a Jackson portray a Jackson that any other casting decision would have diluted.
The more difficult question is what Fuqua does with the complexity of the subject. Michael Jackson is one of the most documented, debated, and contested figures in music history. A three-and-a-half-hour film produced with estate cooperation is, by definition, a particular version of the story. Whether the film earns its runtime — and confronts rather than sidesteps the harder material — will define how it ages beyond opening weekend.
Michael opens nationwide April 24.
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