Lionsgate Michael The film looked almost completely different on screen — and its director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King received bigger bonuses after the film underwent major reshoots.
like Hollywood Reporter It was previously reported that the film’s third act was canceled amid legal concerns linked to a prior settlement involving one of Jackson’s accusers. Jackson’s estate paid for extensive reshoots to remaster the film.
According to A Bloomberg Report published Friday, just as Michael After making their way into theaters, Fuqua and King were initially set to earn $10 million and $6 million, respectively, to direct and produce the biopic about the late Michael Jackson, starring his real-life nephew Jafar Jackson as the King of Pop. King received an additional $10 million, while Fuqua received an additional $15 million to complete reshoots.
“Graham King worked on Michael Film for seven years. Because the film needed to go back into production and come up with a new budget, King and Antoine Fuqua had to postpone other projects and commitments. THR. “This was part of the newly formed budget and advance against the film.”
Michael It was originally scheduled for release in April 2025, but production required a major overhaul, and it eventually arrived in theaters in April 2026.
The original cut included Jackson facing allegations of child sexual abuse, which made up a large part of the third act. However, one of the former defendants had previously reached a settlement with the estate that ensured he would never appear in future business ventures. As a result, an additional 22 days of filming took place in June 2025, and the filmmakers are now considering a sequel to continue telling more of Jackson’s story. Michael It now ends in 1988, more than twenty years before Jackson’s death in 2009.
The decision to remove references to these allegations was reportedly influenced by concerns that including them might hurt the film’s box office performance.
THR I reached out to Lionsgate, the Michael Jackson Estate, and Fuqua representatives but had not heard back by press time.
still, Michael It has exceeded expectations at the box office, with expectations ranging between $94 million and $100 million domestically and its global release is approaching $200 million as of Saturday, despite a wave of negative reviews from critics. The film currently holds a 38 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film continues to face criticism beyond its reviews. James Safechuck, one of two men whose allegations of child sexual abuse by the “Thriller” singer were explored in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverlandreleased a video message on Friday directed to other survivors of child sexual abuse.
The biopic chronicles Michael Jackson’s rise to fame, from his childhood years as the Jackson 5 during the 1960s to his emergence as the King of Pop and one of the most famous artists in the world before his death in 2009.
Earlier this week, Kat Graham also made headlines after she confirmed that her scenes as Diana Ross had been cut from the film due to “legal considerations”.
