Overview
- Reviews poured in after Monday’s Los Angeles premiere, and Rotten Tomatoes scores hovered in the low-30s despite a large built-in fan base.
- The film opens nationwide on Friday, April 24, following a Berlin world premiere and a high-profile Dolby Theatre screening in L.A.
- Multiple outlets fault the movie for a sanitized narrative that avoids the child sexual-abuse allegations and leans on celebratory set pieces.
- Producers removed earlier material after discovering it conflicted with a 1994 settlement tied to Jordan Chandler, prompting about 22 days of reshoots reportedly costing around $15 million and delaying release by a year.
- Family involvement is split, with estate executors producing and Prince Jackson credited as an executive producer, while Paris Jackson called the project dishonest and Janet Jackson declined to participate; many critics still praise Jaafar Jackson’s uncanny performance and the polished musical numbers.