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The Official 'Michael' Bio-Pic Thread

here some statements and explanations from MKgenie, but anyway hopefully it will do really great in Korea and Japan, if it will do there better then BHR like in most other markets the billion-biopic is sure



Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Even with a difficult market and heavy competition, "Michael" will still reach a total of $10 million in China and topped the country's box office chart for six consecutive days. We should still consider this as success, though small, rather than disappointment.



Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Generally speaking, Michael's performance in China is OK, but not good enough to make it a phenomenon. I hope Japan and South Korea can do better. We Chinese fans tried to promote it all the time, but had to face the harsh realities.




Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5

@mkgenie

There are also other factors, including political trends, US-China tensions and language barriers. Also according to audience surveys, the film mostly attracts people aged 40 and older. But middle-aged audiences are busy making a living and have no habit of going to the movies.


Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
"Bohemian Rhapsody" and Taylor Swift's concert film each made around 100 million RMB in China, but that was during a golden era for Hollywood in China. No more.


Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Phenomenal as it is, Wicked grossed only 15.32 million RMB ($2.24 million) in China. Wicked: For Good fared even worse, taking just 5.3 million RMB ($776K). Chinese audiences simply do not care.


Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Additionally, average audiences still lack interest in musicals and biopics, while some fans proclaimed they prefer Michael himself rather than Jaafar portraying him. Some other average moviegoers started to believe the negative reviews by malicious U.S. and European media.

Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
In the end, during the holiday, "Michael's" showtime share of the total market was under 3% of all screening times. On one or two days, it managed only 1.4% of all showtime arrangements in China during the period. This meant fans could barely find the film in theaters.










Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
It also faced heavy competition from 10 new releases during its second week and weekend, which coincided with China's five-day May Day holiday. Theater operators began reallocating screening schedules to accommodate the large number of new releases and reduced Michael's showtimes










Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
As a result, there was no premiere (only what they called "special screenings"), no cast or crew visit to China and no other major marketing plans.









Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Universal Pictures decided to release the film as a regular film in China rather than treating it as an event film. The studio had limited funds and resources to organize large events and faced restrictions from its global headquarters, Lionsgate and Sony Music.
 
t1mber said:
Bohemian Rhapsody grossed approximately $14 million at the Chinese box office and achieved this in a limited release via the country's arthouse theater circuit, becoming a notable success despite facing some censorship of its LGBTQ+ themes.
Click to expand...

Please. How long was the limited release run, to get this £14 million?

Also, do you think, with perhaps a shorter run (but no limited release I take it?) that MICHAEL could get near that figure?

Many thanks in advance, as j in know next to nothing about the China market 👍👏
 
Annita said:
here some statements and explanations from MKgenie, but anyway hopefully it will do really great in Korea and Japan, if it will do there better then BHR like in most other markets the billion-biopic is sure



Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Even with a difficult market and heavy competition, "Michael" will still reach a total of $10 million in China and topped the country's box office chart for six consecutive days. We should still consider this as success, though small, rather than disappointment.



Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Generally speaking, Michael's performance in China is OK, but not good enough to make it a phenomenon. I hope Japan and South Korea can do better. We Chinese fans tried to promote it all the time, but had to face the harsh realities.




Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5

@mkgenie

There are also other factors, including political trends, US-China tensions and language barriers. Also according to audience surveys, the film mostly attracts people aged 40 and older. But middle-aged audiences are busy making a living and have no habit of going to the movies.


Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
"Bohemian Rhapsody" and Taylor Swift's concert film each made around 100 million RMB in China, but that was during a golden era for Hollywood in China. No more.


Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Phenomenal as it is, Wicked grossed only 15.32 million RMB ($2.24 million) in China. Wicked: For Good fared even worse, taking just 5.3 million RMB ($776K). Chinese audiences simply do not care.


Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Additionally, average audiences still lack interest in musicals and biopics, while some fans proclaimed they prefer Michael himself rather than Jaafar portraying him. Some other average moviegoers started to believe the negative reviews by malicious U.S. and European media.

Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
In the end, during the holiday, "Michael's" showtime share of the total market was under 3% of all screening times. On one or two days, it managed only 1.4% of all showtime arrangements in China during the period. This meant fans could barely find the film in theaters.










Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
It also faced heavy competition from 10 new releases during its second week and weekend, which coincided with China's five-day May Day holiday. Theater operators began reallocating screening schedules to accommodate the large number of new releases and reduced Michael's showtimes










Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
As a result, there was no premiere (only what they called "special screenings"), no cast or crew visit to China and no other major marketing plans.









Keen Zhang
@mkgenie
·
May 5


Replying to
@mkgenie
Universal Pictures decided to release the film as a regular film in China rather than treating it as an event film. The studio had limited funds and resources to organize large events and faced restrictions from its global headquarters, Lionsgate and Sony Music.
Click to expand...

And, despite all this, it will still reach $10 million in a short time?
How? I’m confused? 😬☺️🤷‍♂️
 
MJ5824ever said:
Please. How long was the limited release run, to get this £14 million?

Also, do you think, with perhaps a shorter run (but no limited release I take it?) that MICHAEL could get near that figure?

Many thanks in advance, as j in know next to nothing about the China market 👍👏
Click to expand...

Sorry. Might have just been answered above. I’ll check (but still grateful for any knowledge from you, about China) 👍👍
 
someplace_else said:
Would love to watch it a 3rd time next weekend, but OV is only in smaller cinemas, the screen is like 30m² there...the biggest screen they have is 610m²...I am crying inside...why they to me so dirty 🤣
Click to expand...

Can I ask. Where the hell do you live? 😬😂😂😉

It’s almost everywhere here?

Forget London. I have reports from a friend who lives In my old (large town/very small city) of Lincoln (not exactly an MJ hotbed previously, as it’s a bit….hmmm..,shall I say ‘provincial’ 🤔😬😂

She works at one I’ve the biggest cinema UK chains and, despite Lincoln’s “provincial” outlook, it’s been rammed since the start. People dressing up. Moonwalking, through the foyers, hardly a seat unsold with booked tickets and last minute walk in queues!

And that’s Lincoln!! 😳😬😂🤣

I really feel for YOU, bro/Sis! 😳😳❤️
 
MJ5824ever said:
Can I ask. Where the hell do you live? 😬😂😂😉

It’s almost everywhere here?

Forget London. I have reports from a friend who lives In my old (large town/very small city) of Lincoln (not exactly an MJ hotbed previously, as it’s a bit….hmmm..,shall I say ‘provincial’ 🤔😬😂

She works at one I’ve the biggest cinema UK chains and, despite Lincoln’s “provincial” outlook, it’s been rammed since the start. People dressing up. Moonwalking, through the foyers, hardly a seat unsold with booked tickets and last minute walk in queues!

And that’s Lincoln!! 😳😬😂🤣

I really feel for YOU, bro/Sis! 😳😳❤️
Click to expand...
Nuremberg, Germany... so, the OV is already tricky to find and well...Germans are... let's say..."boring", trying to be polite here 😂.

The cinema here has the biggest screen in Europe as far as I know, so it hurts...very...very...much that they only show the OV in these small rooms 😭.

Maybe for part 2 I have to travel to a cooler location 🥲
 
The UAE and Saudi Arabia currently rank as the 16th and 17th highest-grossing international markets for Michael globally, despite their relatively small populations and more limited screen counts compared to major markets, grossing approximately $4M and $3.84M respectively.

In Saudi Arabia, IMAX screenings have returned following weak performance from Mortal Kombat, while social media platforms across the region are heavily saturated with MJ-related content. Michael Jackson is trending across virtually all generations, with Gen Z noticeably leading the momentum. The overwhelming majority of posts and interactions appear positive, while the remaining discussions are either neutral or centered around genuine inquiries regarding the allegations.

To put things into perspective, Egypt, with a population exceeding 100 million has grossed approximately $238K, Turkey ~90 million population grossing ~$1M; compared to Saudi Arabia’s ~35 million population and the UAE’s ~12 million + declining tourism due to current unrest in the region.
 
Luiz Fernando

@Luiz_Fernando_J
·
7h


It would be irresponsible of me to say 1B at Global #BoxOffice is locked before seeing how #MICHAEL opens in #Korea, #Russia and specially #Japan. But momentum is strong. With IMAX returning this weekend, very likely the biopic’ll return to #1 in the US & also overseas on its 4th frame, when it also debuts in Korea. That would make #MICHAEL outpace #Oppenheimer at the same point in its run by SUN. That alone would make 900M+ locked and 1B officially a realistic aim.But let’s not get ahead of ourselves to avoid frustrations until we see how this upcoming weekend actually performs.
 
My thoughts on the movie are that its a 9/10! There’s just so much in michaels life that you can’t fit into a single movie, heck it needs more than two parts!

I just wish there were more performances and it showed the darker things Michael had to face in his life it only showed his childhood abuse, burn, a little bit of vitiligo and that he got a little lonely
There’s just so much more that happened in his life
 
Andrew Greenes comment under MJCasts roundtable of the biopic, I hope he is right we are getting a trilogy :) 🙏


"One thing I’m fairly certain about: the script that was filmed in 2024 was not the earliest version of the screenplay. The original‑original draft reportedly carried the story all the way through Michael’s passing. The version that ultimately went before cameras stops in 1994.
Here’s how I believe Part 2 is designed to unfold:
Opening:

Part 2 will likely mirror the structure of Part 1 — beginning at the “end” and then flashing back. Then rewind to fill in the gap between the final Victory Tour show and the start of the Bad era.

Act I:

This is where we’ll see the connective tissue the first film skipped: The sale of the ATV catalog, the media’s early shift in tone toward Michael, and the creative and personal evolution leading into the Bad era.

Act II:

This act practically writes itself: Michael purchasing Neverland, the development and transformation of the property, his expanding humanitarian work, and a more intimate, humanizing portrait of who he was offstage. This is the emotional core, the part that I believe will deepen the audience’s connection to him.

Act III:

The final act will almost certainly center on the Dangerous era: the artistry, the ambition, the scale, the cultural impact. We will see him reacting to Rodney King beating (spoiler: foreshadowing third movie) culminating in one of the most iconic moments of his career: the Super Bowl halftime show.

Because Part 2 covers a tighter, more concentrated stretch of Michael’s life, I expect a film with far more dialogue, character work, and narrative depth. Less time to cover means more room to breathe.

And yes, everything about the structure, the timeline, and the pacing strongly suggests there will be a third film.
I forgot who it was on the show that said it, but this current film is just act one. We are going to go through three acts. The next film will be act 2, and the third film will be the third act!"
 
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In our biggest cinema, it looks like Michael is getting the Maxx 2 screens from friday onwards (taking them from DWP). Dune 1 and 2 are getting the main Maxx screens as part of a Maxx festival - which I now want to go to.

But still, that shows MJ outlasting Prada here
 
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