Lionsgate‘s Michael Jackson biopic Michael, after additional shoots, will not ease down the road but rather boogie this weekend with what’s expected to be a $150 million start at the global box office.
The feature, which carries a $200M production cost, in Lionsgate fashion has foreign sold to mitigate risk, with international distribution in the hands of Universal (sans Japan, which local distrib Kino called dibs on).
The domestic outlook points to what could be a record start for a music performer biopic, ahead of both 2015’s Straight Outta Compton ($60.2M) and Bohemian Rhapsody ($51M), the latter which was produced by Michael producer Graham King. The Antoine Fuqua-directed, John Logan-written Michael came on tracking between $50M-$60M and has since grown to $65M-$70M at 3,900 locations (including 1,600 Imax and premium large format auditoriums).
The Hollywood premiere last night was something spiritual with rolling cheers and applause
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