Overview
- Box-office totals released Monday put the debut at $97 million in the U.S. and $217 million worldwide, the strongest opening ever for a music biopic.
- Critic scores were low while moviegoers were enthusiastic, with about 38% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes versus roughly 97% audience approval and an A- CinemaScore.
- The film ends in 1988 and omits later abuse claims, and trade reports say producers cut and reshot material after finding a 1993 settlement clause that bars dramatizing that case, adding about $15 million in costs.
- Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew, plays the lead, and the production involved the Jackson estate, positioning the movie as a family-backed account of his early career.
- Scrutiny is rising alongside the success, with a new federal lawsuit by the Cascio siblings and a high-profile New York Times interview, sharp criticism from Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed, and a ZDF docuseries revisiting the 2005 trial now streaming before a May 12 TV airing.