The Michael Jackson biopic, "Michael", starring Jaafar Jackson, is set to open its paid preview screenings on Thursday evening (April 23) before opening wide on Friday (April 24).
Ahead of the previews, the Antoine Fuqua directorial has already sold approximately 78,000 tickets in India through bookings for its previews and opening weekend — the highest for a musical biopic in India, surpassing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Elvis".
Notably, it's also the fourth-highest in terms of advance sales for a Hollywood movie, behind "Avengers: Endgame", "Oppenheimer", and "Barbie", as per data from various sources.
Reports note the film has already earned over Rs 3 crore in advance sales before the official nationwide release. In South India, Prasads Multiplex (Hyderabad) alone is said to have registered nearly 7,000 ticket bookings.
The paid previews begin from 6:00 pm onwards in select Indian theatres, in various premium formats including IMAX 2D, Dolby Cinema 2D, 4DX, and MX4D.
"Michael" is a rare exception to the musical biopic genre in India. Previous major hits, chiefly "Bohemian Rhapsody" (2018) and "Elvis" (2022), underperformed significantly compared to these early numbers.
The bookings are also showing a high interest in IMAX screenings. Since movies like "F1", "Project Hail Mary" and "Oppenheimer" earned most of the revenue from IMAX screenings, a significant portion of the advance sales for "Michael" is coming from high-priced IMAX screenings, especially in North India, where bookings opened just days ago.
It's also said to be doing well in the South. While many Hollywood films struggle outside major metros, "Michael" is showing unusual strength in the South, as mentioned earlier in the case of Hyderabad's Prasads Multiplex, owing to the King of Pop's enduring popularity.
In terms of global opening weekend, "Michael" is expected to gross around $140–150 million, which would take the earnings beyond the records held by "Bohemian Rhapsody" ($121 million) and "Elvis" (less than $100 million).
With a focus on the early parts of the iconic singer's life and the peak of his success, "Michael" is expected to have a sequel covering the remaining, more complex aspects of his life.
