The first trailer for the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, “Michael,” has officially become the most-watched music biopic preview in history, delivering a massive hit for distributor Lionsgate, per film-news.co.uk.
The preview, which dropped last week, drew more than 116.2 million views globally in its first 24 hours, according to statistics provided by WaveMetrix on 8 November. This colossal figure not only shattered the music biopic record but also made it Lionsgate’s most-viewed movie preview ever.
“Michael,” which is slated to hit the big screen on 24 April next year, stars the King of Pop’s real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in the title role.
The film boasts an all-star cast, including Oscar nominee Colman Domingo as Michael’s father, Joe Jackson, and Nia Long as his mother, Katherine Jackson. Also featured are Miles Teller as attorney John Branca, Kat Graham as Diana Ross, Laura Harrier as Suzanne de Passe, and Kendrick Sampson as Quincy Jones. Juliano Krue Valdi will portray a young Michael Jackson.
Following the trailer’s successful release, discussions have resurfaced regarding the possibility of splitting the film into two parts.
Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, addressed the speculation during a quarterly earnings call with analysts.
“While we’re not yet ready to confirm plans for a second film, I can tell you that the creative team is hard at work making sure that we’re in a position to deliver more Michael soon after we release the first film,” he shared, hinting that the story may require more than one instalment to cover the depth of the superstar’s life.
