Tuesday, June 2, 2026

“Michael” Movie Will Stop, They’ve Got Enough: Hit Film Bailing to Streaming Services Instead of Shooting for $1 Billion Record

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Michael Jackson fans are very disappointed.

The “Michael” movie is heading to home streaming on June 9th, next Tuesday.

This is a surprise since “Michael” currently has $850 million banked worldwide at the box office.

But once it goes to streaming, attention will shift to living rooms and phones. It’s unlikely “Michael” will hit the magical $1 billion mark.

Now, if Lionsgate is lucky, the film will top out at $900 million.

It’s a strange decision, but this is the way things are now. I’m sure movie theaters will miss this film. It was a solid hit that drew people back to the candy counter.

“Michael” had a good run. It will turn up in awards season at the Critics Choice and Golden Globes because they have categories for it. I doubt we will Oscar action, and there was no new song. But $900 million should make everyone happy.

A second movie? A really bad idea, unless it’s just going to cover 1988 through about 1991. But after that the story gets pretty dicey.

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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