Released in April of 2026, Michael is a film starring Jaafar Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua, and written by John Logan. The film covers the career of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, from his gigs with the Jackson 5 — a band of brothers assembled by their father, Joseph Jackson — in 1966 to his performance of Bad World in 1988 to an ecstatic crowd. It follows the struggles in Michael’s life, his music career, his family, and his physical health. The movie is the fourth highest grossing biographical film of all time, generating a gross revenue of $790,055,475 as of May 27th, 2026.
The film starts with Joseph Jackson assembling his sons Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, and Tito into a band called the Jackson 5, in which he put Michael on the lead vocals. They mainly took up smaller gigs until Suzanne De Passe discovered them in Chicago in 1968. A year later, Motown signed with them. Their albums reached the top of the charts, with concert tickets sold out across the country. In 1971, they moved from their small estate in Gary, Indiana, to a million-dollar mansion in Encino, California.
Michael signed with Epic Records for his very first solo album in 1978, called Off the Wall, produced by Quincy Jones. Joseph held Michael back on his solo career despite the album’s success, as Joseph believed he was the one responsible for the success of his sons. Restrained by his father’s pride, Michael was forced to continue on the tours with his brothers. At this time, Michael began developing vitiligo, a skin condition that erases pigment in patches. Filled with insecurity, he underwent a rhinoplasty to make his nose smaller. Once recovered, he took advice from people in his life. He hired John Branca as a representing attorney and fired Joseph through fax.
The rest of the movie demonstrates a montage of Michael gaining popularity around the world, and eventually earning the crown as the King of Pop. The movie is rated extremely well, and has been teased and anticipated for five years prior to its release. Anyone who sat in theaters after its release could express how the movie was obviously a passion-ran project.
