Some have caught wind (via Box Office Mojo) that Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic has been removed from Lionsgate’s 2025 calendar. Its intended October 3 release potentially delayed?
via: Movie Web
Michael Jackson was one of the biggest musical artists of all time, earning the nickname 'The King of Pop'; his death on June 26, 2009, was a major moment in pop culture. The idea of a Michael Jackson biopic had circulated for years but gained traction in 2019 when Bohemian Rhapsody producer Graham King secured the life rights. So far, the movie has assembled an impressive creative team including Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, The Aviator screenwriter John Logan, and a cast that includes Nia Long, Coleman Domingo, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller, and Michael Jackson's nephew Jaafar Jackson stepping into the role of his late uncle.
The site Film Stories noticed that Michael had been removed from its Oct. 3, 2025 release date on Box Office Mojo. This would mark the second delay to the film, as it was initially set to open in theaters on Apr. 18, 2025, but was delayed to October of this year. The film's distributor, Lionsgate, has yet to release a statement. Since the initial post, Box Office Mojo seems to have relisted Michael with its initial date, so it seems it's still on track for a 2025 release.
Yet the idea of a delay would not be out of the realm of possibility given recent news that the entire third act of Michael needs to be reshot. A month ago, it was reported that the filmmakers needed to scrap the initial third act of Michael due to its depiction of the 1993 court case in which the family of 13-year-old Jordan Chandler accused Jackson of sexually assaulting him, a moment that damaged Jackson's reputation in the public eye.
According to the recent report, when Jackson settled with Chandler's family for $23 million, part of that agreement prohibited Jackson's estate from ever dramatizing Chandler's story, and therefore, the filmmakers are not legally allowed to show the case in the film.
Michael has been a controversial project since it was first announced. While Michael Jackson is an important part of pop culture history, the musician's legacy has been tainted by multiple cases of inappropriate behavior and sexual misconduct with minors. News of Michael came 10 months after Leaving Neverland debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2019, where it was acquired for HBO. The harrowing documentary focuses on Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two men who allege they were sexually abused by Jackson when they were children.
The documentary was both acclaimed and controversial: though it won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, the doc was denounced by fans of Michael Jackson and the late singer's estate for appearing one-sided. The Jackson estate even sued HBO in February 2019, claiming the network breached a non-disparagement clause from a 1992 Jackson concert contract by distributing Leaving Neverland.
In a certain respect, Michael itself feels like a response to Leaving Neverland as a way for the late singer's estate to reestablish Michael Jackson's legacy.
If Michael needs to reshoot its third act, it certainly stands to reason that Lionsgate might have to delay the film. However, there is also a chance the studio will try to rush it out for an October 2025 release date, which would put it towards the beginning of awards season.
Musical biopics have done very well at the Academy Awards in recent years, with Austin Butler being nominated for Elvis and Rami Malek winning Best Actor for his depiction of Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. This year, both Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro are nominated for Academy Awards for playing musical artists Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, respectively, in A Complete Unknown.
After a terrible box office year in 2024 that included flops like Borderlands, Megalopolis, and The Crow, Lionsgate certainly is hoping for Michael to be a win both at the box office and awards season, but the rush to make a release date combined with the controversy might end up working against the movie.
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If they've edited most of the film already, and all they have to do is go in and reshoot an entirely new third act, then I think they can make their October release date without having to resort to a cinematic delay.
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