The legacy of the King of Pop continues to mark milestones, even more than a decade after his death. The trailer for Michael, the long-awaited biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua and produced by Graham King, became the biggest launch in Lionsgate's history, reaching 116.2 million global views in its first 24 hours, according to WaveMetrix data published by Deadline.

The trailer, released on November 7, 2025, surpassed all the studio's previous records and those of any other biographical musical film. With that figure, it left behind the digital debuts of recent productions such as Taylor Swift: Eras Tour (96.1 million), Bob Marley: One Love (60.1 million), Bohemian Rhapsody (57.6 million) and A Complete Unknown, about Bob Dylan (47.2 million).

In its first six hours, the trailer had already racked up more than 30 million views, 50% more than John Wick: Chapter 4 in its digital premiere. The studio itself confirmed the figures and announced that the preview will be shown in theaters during the premiere of Now You See: Now You Don't, another Lionsgate title.

Michael is directed by Antoine Fuquadirector of Training Day, and produced by Graham King, director of Bohemian Rhapsody. The cast is headed by Jaafar Jackson, nephew of Michael Jackson, who will play the artist. He is accompanied by Nia Long as Katherine Jackson, Coleman Domingo as Joe Jackson and Miles Teller as John Branca.

The script is written by three-time Oscar nominee John Logan, and both Lionsgate and Universal Pictures have officially confirmed production details.

The film will hit theaters on April 24, 2026. Lionsgate will handle distribution in the United States, while Universal Pictures will take the film to international markets. and Kino Films will distribute it in Japan. The trailer's release date strategically coincided with the presentation of Lionsgate's quarterly financial results, in an attempt to maximize media impact.

The performance Michael's trailer marks a before and after in the digital promotion of musical films. According to Deadline, the viralization of the trailer demonstrates the enormous interest that the figure of Michael Jackson continues to arouse and confirms the power of biographical content on digital platforms.

The WaveMetrix consulting firm He highlighted that no other trailer of its genre had reached such a level of interaction in such a short time. For the industry, the Michael case will serve as a new reference in the marketing and distribution strategies of future musical biopics, which will now measure their initial impact at the box office and in digital viewing.

In the words of a Lionsgate executive quoted by Deadline, “the global audience's response to this first preview demonstrates that Michael Jackson's story is still alive and continues to move crowds, both in music and in film.”

Culture Editorial