Commercial Success and Mixed Reviews for the Michael Jackson Biopic

Apr 26, 2026, 18:46

Introduction

The biographical film 'Michael,' which explores the early career of pop star Michael Jackson, has earned record-breaking amounts at the global box office. However, there is a clear difference between the opinions of professional critics and the general public.

Main Body

The film has seen massive financial success, earning $97 million in the U.S. and Canada and $120.4 million internationally. With a total global opening of $217.4 million, it has set a new record for music biopics, beating previous hits like 'Straight Outta Compton' and 'Bohemian Rhapsody.' In India, the movie also performed well, earning approximately ₹18.91 crore. Production of the movie faced several challenges. The original story included a final section about the 1993 allegations made by Jordan Chandler. However, a legal agreement from 1994 prevented the filmmakers from mentioning these events. As a result, the studio spent between $25 million and $50 million on 22 days of reshoots to change the ending to 1988. This increased the total production budget to around $200 million. Opinions on the film are deeply divided. Professional critics gave it a low score of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, criticizing the movie for ignoring abuse allegations and claiming it tried to make Jackson's image look too perfect. In contrast, audiences loved the film, giving it a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 'A-' CinemaScore. Furthermore, celebrities like Anupam Kher and Farah Khan praised lead actor Jaafar Jackson, with Khan asserting that his performance deserves an Academy Award.

Conclusion

Although 'Michael' is a huge commercial hit and popular with viewers, the studio is now considering a sequel. This second film would likely address the later and more controversial parts of Michael Jackson's life.

Vocabulary Learning

controversial (adj.)
controversial / subject to disagreement or debate有爭議的
Example:The movie's portrayal of the singer was controversial among fans.
divided (adj.)
divided / split into parts or opinions分歧的
Example:Critics were divided over the film's historical accuracy.
record-breaking (adj.)
record-breaking / surpassing all previous records破紀錄的
Example:The film achieved record-breaking box office sales worldwide.
reshoots (n.)
reshoots / repeated filming to replace or improve scenes重拍
Example:The director scheduled several reshoots to fix the lighting issues.
sequel (n.)
sequel / a film that continues the story of a previous film續集
Example:The studio announced plans for a sequel next year.

Sentence Learning

The film, which explores the early career of pop star Michael Jackson, has earned record-breaking amounts at the global box office.
Relative Clause: The clause 'which explores the early career of pop star Michael Jackson' provides additional information about the film. It is a non-defining relative clause introduced by 'which' and set off by commas.關係子句（非限定性）: 此子句以 'which' 引導，提供關於 'the film' 的額外資訊，並用逗號分隔，屬於非限定性關係子句。
The original story included a final section about the 1993 allegations made by Jordan Chandler.
Passive Voice: The phrase 'made by Jordan Chandler' is a passive participial clause indicating that the allegations were made by Jordan Chandler.被動語態（分詞片語）: 片語 'made by Jordan Chandler' 以被動形式表達，說明 1993 年的指控是由 Jordan Chandler 所提出。
In contrast, audiences loved the film, giving it a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 'A-' CinemaScore.
Contrastive Conjunction: The adverbial phrase 'In contrast' introduces a contrast between critics' negative reception and audiences' positive reception.對比連詞（副詞片語）: 'In contrast' 以副詞片語形式引入對比，說明觀眾對影片的喜愛與評論家不同。
Although 'Michael' is a huge commercial hit and popular with viewers, the studio is now considering a sequel.
Subordinate Clause with Although: The clause 'Although 'Michael' is a huge commercial hit and popular with viewers' sets up a concession, followed by the main clause.讓步子句（although）: 'Although' 引導的子句表示讓步，說明即使影片熱賣，製片方仍考慮續集。
However, there is a clear difference between the opinions of professional critics and the general public.
Conjunctive Adverb: The word 'However' functions as a conjunctive adverb linking this sentence to the previous one, indicating contrast.連接副詞（however）: 'However' 作為連接副詞，連接前後句子，強調意見之間的差異。