Latest on MJJC

"Michael", a biopic about Michael Jackson, is officially happening.

Hot_Street said:
Calm down, Michael will be in cinemas in 2025 after all.
www.mjvibe.com

THE WIZ back in theatres on May 18 - MJVibe

Universal Pictures just announced that "The Wiz" will be back in selected Theatres in the US on May 18.
www.mjvibe.com www.mjvibe.com
Click to expand...

Not to be vehemently against the idea of it still releasing this year, though I am still under the belief that it is going to be delayed, I am open to discuss this. But The Wiz re-release is clearly not promotion for the biopic, the only reason The Wiz is back in cinema is due to it celebrating 50 years of the play. It was going to come out regardless, biopic or not.
 
t1mber said:
I wouldn't consider a sports drama with 40M budget about a wrestler no one knows about outside the US as a competitor to a biopic with 200M budget about one of the most popular man ever lived. Usually every week there are at least 2-5 new movies at wide release. Rarely there are weekends with no new movies or only 1 of them. So October 2025 is still possible. We'll know it soon.
Click to expand...

Why would A24 a smaller studio with a smaller niche film decide it would be an amazing idea to release their film on the same day as the huge Hollywood big budget Michael Jackson film.

The only reason I think it's valid to see this as evidence of the delay was due to how A24 took the release date of the biopic immediately after the reports of the potential delay. Behind the scenes, film execs and studios know more about what's going on rather than us the public. Also although The Smashing Machine is a smaller movie it still has it's own promo run and production pipeline so they would definitely not take the October date unless they were 100% assured of Michael being pushed back. It is also very rare for different movies to release on the same day unless there is reason like a whole competition between companies or a whole marketing campaign like Barbie and Oppenheimer.
 
Absolute Goon said:
[...] It is also very rare for different movies to release on the same day unless there is reason like a whole competition between companies or a whole marketing campaign like Barbie and Oppenheimer.
Click to expand...
I must not be understanding this statement. :unsure:

In the UK several different films are released every Friday. On April 18 we got Warfare, Sinners and that penguin thing. There were others but those 3 were the big-release mainstream things that came out.


'Michael' and the Mark Kerr film are biopics about American men, imo that's more or less all they have in common, but I can see why A24 might want to avoid going head-to-head with 'Michael'. Anyway, re-posting Bogdan's post on film release decisions which I found helpful.
Bogdan said:
Movie box office performance is often quantified by referring to the "4 quadrants" - basically to which demographic does it most appeal to - male female young old etc. That's the reason you normally don't see 2 or 3 animated movies or action movies or any other similar genre opening against each other on the same weekend. Usually the studios would choose to offer "counter programming".
Click to expand...
 
I have faith that Michael biopic's official trailer will come out in June

This place will be exploded

Of course this is just my hope
 
The movie has been delayed to 2026 so not expecting a full trailer until the end of the year but they should be giving us a teaser at least. This summer has big blockbusters so that would be a good time to tease something in the cinemas.
 
Now you see me 3 drops in November & we got a trailer to that yesterday. (Even though it took almost 10 years for the 3rd act) but even in the comment section...people are truly asking where is the mj biopic. Kinda actually blew my mind that it's in high demand yet still not even a teaser or poster...
 
wonderouzmj said:
Now you see me 3 drops in November & we got a trailer to that yesterday. (Even though it took almost 10 years for the 3rd act) but even in the comment section...people are truly asking where is the mj biopic. Kinda actually blew my mind that it's in high demand yet still not even a teaser or poster...
Click to expand...
Assuming a 2026 release for the film, now would be way too early for a poster. It would be great if they did one, though. I can't see how the content and design of a poster could be affected by re-shoots. The fan-made posters I've seen are very nicely done but I'd rather see something real. I don't think it will happen but it would be nice ...
 
zinniabooklover said:
Assuming a 2026 release for the film, now would be way too early for a poster. It would be great if they did one, though. I can't see how the content and design of a poster could be affected by re-shoots. The fan-made posters I've seen are very nicely done but I'd rather see something real. I don't think it will happen but it would be nice ...
Click to expand...
i think april 2026 first part and october 2026
part 2!!
 
zinniabooklover said:
Hopefully, Lionsgate will make an announcement in the next couple of months and then we'll know what their plans are. :)
Click to expand...
Hopefully sooner: This quote is from April 1th

"Ever since we debuted some early Michael footage at CinemaCon last year, it's been crystal clear how much global interest and enthusiasm there is,"Fogelson said from the Las Vegas stage. "Much has happened since ), and while we aren't quite ready to share more, we're going to have some very big! and exciting! things to say in the coming weeks.
 
"Coming weeks" usually implies less than a month, but have definitely seen PR end up stretching that term to months. Here's to hoping ☕
 
Annita said:
Hopefully sooner: This quote is from April 1th

"Ever since we debuted some early Michael footage at CinemaCon last year, it's been crystal clear how much global interest and enthusiasm there is,"Fogelson said from the Las Vegas stage. "Much has happened since ), and while we aren't quite ready to share more, we're going to have some very big! and exciting! things to say in the coming weeks.
Click to expand...
I agree and I flagged this up a while back when I posted that John Campea video. Tbh, based on their CinemaCon statement, I'd have expected something from them by now. CinemaCon was a month ago, after all. But it hasn't happened so I thought, OK, maybe John Campea is right, he did say an announcement from Lionsgate was likely in the next couple of months and that is beginning to feel more realistic to me.

Maybe they want to wait until the re-shoots are all done? There could be any number of reasons why it's taking a while. :unsure:
 
Billie Jean 78 said:
If it were to be... How would you split it up? 2nd part all about the trial? No, that wouldn't do as there are not enough years afterwards... Maybe the 2000s would be suitable for the 3rd part.
Click to expand...
First part: Jackson 5 / Jacksons

Second part: Off The Wall - Bad

Third part: Dangerous - This Is It

But I think two parts would be enough, I mean if they made each part 3 hours long, that would already be 6 hours.
 
etoile 37 said:
First part: Jackson 5 / Jacksons

Second part: Off The Wall - Bad

Third part: Dangerous - This Is It

But I think two parts would be enough, I mean if they made each part 3 hours long, that would already be 6 hours.
Click to expand...
I mean realistically it'd be Off The Wall as the cornerstone of Part 1. Thriller Bad and Dangerous as the huge 2nd part and then the final years of HIStory to This Is It for Part 3. If this crazy idea actually came to be.
 
Small update from Jeff Sneider in his newsletter and The Hot Mic (at the 1h mark):


Before we begin, a little update on the Michael Jackson movie Michael. I was the first person to report on the possibility of Lionsgate and director Antoine Fuqua splitting Michael into two films, and sure enough, I’m hearing that crew members have been contacted about returning to work this summer, lending credence to that theory. Stay tuned for an official announcement from Lionsgate, which has a lot of money tied up in this project. That’s why the studio is eager to split the film into two parts — theoretically, Lionsgate and its partners would double their box office haul.
Click to expand...
www.theinsneider.com

Retreat! Warner Bros. Shuts Down DC’s 'Sgt. Rock' Movie, Proving It’s Not So Easy (Company) to Start a Universe

Plus, who should star in the 'Miami Vice' reboot, an update on Lionsgate's 'Michael,' and new movies featuring Chris Hemsworth, Rachel Zegler, and WWE star Liv Morgan.
www.theinsneider.com www.theinsneider.com
 
"Coming back to reshoot and do new scenes to make up for all the scenes that they had to cut out"
"Some of them reached out to clarify... they're just doing reshoots and then some new scenes to make up for all that lost footage."

That was one of my fears; bad enough to change the director's original vision, I also hope this doesn't relate to replacing/minimizing the coverage of the allegations... was really hoping these reshoots were just additional scenes to fill up a 2-film structure and/or runtime.
 
Last edited:
If all the rumours are true then this is a significant change to the plot.

It's beyond me how the Estate allowed such a colossal oversight with so much money involved. Money is usually their only language.
 
innuendo141 said:
It's beyond me how the Estate allowed such a colossal oversight with so much money involved. Money is usually their only language.
Click to expand...
Well, I guess money doesn't matter as long the biopic portrays Branca as the indispensable guy, who's pulled alĺ the strings throughout MJ's career 😄
 
innuendo141 said:
If all the rumours are true then this is a significant change to the plot.

It's beyond me how the Estate allowed such a colossal oversight with so much money involved. Money is usually their only language.
Click to expand...
Feels like this is slowly declining into a mess, Lionsgate will run out of patience, How has this happened? All this change after such a positive start, so sick of all the let downs now. It's getting beyond embarrassment
 
SmoothGangsta said:
they are making this into a generic film.
Click to expand...
Did you see the Queen biopic? Or the Elton John one? The Michael movie will be the "Michael Jackson" version of that. That's what the studio and the Estate want, and it's what the casual audience expects. Such movies are made to make massive amounts of money, which means delivering to the audience the product that it wants. Biopics are big-budget, "prestige" versions of the made-for-TV biographical films that used to get made.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top