The late global sensation Michael Jackson is getting his own musical drama biopic (currently in the works) almost a decade and a half after his death, but even his fans don’t seem to be all too optimistic about it. If anything, fans are more or less expecting the film titled Michael to be doomed just like the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s The Marvels.
All of this comes after recent reports about the film from insiders, who have stated the reported budget and box office projections of the film. And as much as fans would hate to admit it, the biopic Michael is making the very same mistake that doomed Brie Larson’s 2023 superhero sequel to Captain Marvel: Absurdly overinflated budget and box office projections.
Michael Jackson’s Biopic may be as Doomed as The Marvels
Recently, industry insider Matthew Belloni of Puck shared some serious details about Jackson’s upcoming biopic. As per what one source told him, Michael‘s “net budget is around $155 million (minus the incentives), which would place it among the most expensive musical biopics ever made.”
While that budget in itself is indeed massive for a normal biopic movie, Puck reveals that adding to it are Lionsgate and Universal Pictures’ massive, massive expectations for it to maybe even cross the $1 billion mark considering the incredible boom in musical biopics lately.
For one, they are reportedly considering the film could at least cross the $910 million mark that the biopic on the late Freddie Mercury, Bohemian Rhapsody, has set at the box offices because the King of Pop “was a much bigger star than Freddie Mercury ever was,” as Belloni reported.
However, with such an incredulous budget and box office projections, there is also a great chance for the film to face a doomed future. This comes after the immense controversy surrounding Michael Jackson‘s allegedly being a “pedophile”, especially after 2019’s Leaving Neverland.
Moreover, even if the film decides to exclude such allegations and leave the message that “Michael was the actual victim here,” as Belloni says, the massive budget is still high risk and is more or less even exceedingly inflated. That being said, Michael is making the same mistake as The Marvels.
Just like this upcoming biopic, the sequel to Captain Marvel also had a tremendous budget of more than $270 million, as per Forbes, and that film, too, was being expected by the creators to cross the $1 billion mark just like its predecessor.
However, as the series of unfortunate events and the ‘M-She-U’ controversy, Brie Larson‘s movie was eventually nothing more than just a rather expensive failure. Thus, considering all the similarities in the circumstances, there is a high risk that Michael may face the same doom.
Fans React to this Absurdly Massive Budget for Michael
Even without considering the controversy surrounding him, fans are certain that the reported budget for the biopic Michael is absurdly inflated. If anything, they are pointing out how having such a high budget and expectations pretty much spells doom for the movie.
Taking to X, here’s how they’re reacting to this news and pointing out just why the film could be up for an epic fail:
It better be one heck of a film cause I don't think it will even make 400M. That budget is absurd.
— Eddie (@OHMYDIAZ) March 8, 2024
cross $1B at the global what?! 😅 pic.twitter.com/6OuHWpiFoh
— Box Office Forecast 🎬 (@BoxOfficeFcst) March 8, 2024
that’s assuming everyone has an interest in seeing this movie. Not everybody is a fan of Michael Jackson.
— ReelTalker (@TalkerReel92) March 8, 2024
the studio should’ve approached the film from an unbiased POV, rather than having the jackson family creating a completely uncritical film to continue profiting off the legacy of their deceased family member
— Hubby (@myownhusband) March 9, 2024
Way too high of a budget, and unless it touches on the shit I’m sure his nephew wouldn’t wanna bring to light himself (meaning it won’t) no one’s gonna wanna see it
— Shane Reuter (@TheShaneReuter) March 9, 2024
That’s a highly unrealistic expectation tbh
— Ravens/Jenna Ortega stan 🇵🇸🍉 (@BmoreBro96) March 8, 2024
Big budgets never means a big return..
Studio executives need to stop having unrealistic expectations of how films are going to do
— Aussie_Corpse (@adam_mossman) March 9, 2024
No not even close. This is lionsgate. They have never had a billion dollar movie and I think this movie will make 250M at best. Lowest would be 180M but NOT a billion
— The Lazer (@TheLazerOffical) March 8, 2024
$155mill…..for what? Superhero movies cost that much
— ARon06 (@A_Ron06) March 9, 2024
Adding to this, as Belloni reports, is the takeaway of the biopic, which is that Jackson “had an abusive father who caused him to become a horribly insecure yet harmless Peter Pan, constantly reliving the childhood he never had. And ultimately, that was weaponized by bad people trying to exploit him.”
Thus, considering all these reactions of netizens and fans worldwide, there is a lot at stake here for Michael, which would reportedly see Jaafar Jackson (MJ’s nephew) embodying the King of Pop. Nonetheless, we’ll let time land the final verdict.
Michael will be a biographical musical drama film on Michael Jackson and will open in theatres on the 18th of April, 2025.
