Michael, the big-budget Michael Jackson biopic, has shrugged off bad reviews and a troubled production to launch with a $97m opening in North American theaters, contributing to its enormous $217m (£160m, A$303m) worldwide box office and shattering the record for the biggest biopic opening of all time.

The film, a highly authorised portrayal of the “king of pop” that was co-produced by the Jackson estate and stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, took $120.4m internationally and $97m domestic – combining to surpass Oppenheimer’s $180.4m worldwide opening weekend in 2023 and Bohemian Rhapsody’s $124m in 2018.

The film has now opened in most of the world – one notable exception being Japan, home to a huge Jackson fanbase, where it will open in June.

Michael’s $97m domestic debut also surpassed records set by previous biopics in North America, including Oppenheimer ($82m in 2023), Straight Outta Compton ($60.2m in 2015) and Bohemian Rhapsody ($51m in 2018).

Critics have criticised Michael for glossing over some of the less convenient aspects of Jackson’s life but audiences have been far more enthusiastic: on Rotten Tomatoes its critics score is 38%, compared with 97% from audiences. A few weeks back, estimates for Michael’s North American opening weekend were closer to $50m but this rose to $70m – which it wildly overperformed.

“From the beginning, all of the signals were that something like this was possible,” the Lionsgate chairman, Adam Fogelson, told Associated Press. “We were seeing massive engagement with every conceivable audience segment that you could identify.”

Even in the lucrative market of music biopics, Michael was an audacious bet by Lionsgate on a controversial figure. The reputation of Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, has been repeatedly tarnished by allegations of sexual abuse of children. Jackson and his estate have maintained his innocence, though the pop star acknowledged sharing a bedroom with other people’s children. He was acquitted in his sole criminal trial in 2005.

Some Jackson family members opposed the film: his sister Janet Jackson was uninvolved and doesn’t appear in it, while Jackson’s daughter, Paris, called it “fantasy land”.

The film also had an unusually rocky production. After shooting was completed, producers realised they had made a costly mistake. The third act focused on the accusations of Jordan Chandler, then 13 years old, whom Jackson paid $23m to in a 1994 settlement. The terms of that settlement barred the Jackson estate from ever mentioning Chandler in a movie.

A huge chunk of the film was cut and reshoots for as much as $50m were done at the estate’s expense. Director Antoine Fuqua and screenwriter John Logan reworked the movie to conclude in 1988, before any accusations were made.

“I would take issue with the idea that we as a studio or as film-makers were running around in a panic,” Fogelson told AP on Sunday, labelling it “a unique and challenging circumstance” instead

Yet as bad as things once looked for Michael, the movie turned into a huge hit. The film’s total production cost came close to $200m. To defray costs, Lionsgate sold international distribution rights to Universal. A sequel is in development. A third film after that, Fogelson said, is “not inconceivable.”

Director Antoine Fuqua has said he would like to direct the sequel, telling Deadline on Sunday: “It would kill me if somebody else did it.”

Cut footage could be repurposed as the shoots went “pretty far”, Fuqua added: “We went through the Jordan allegations we couldn’t use. We went farther than that. Maybe a year or two after that (1995) when things turned against Michael.”

Plans for Michael were first announced in 2022, three years after the release of Leaving Neverland, the 2019 documentary about Jackson’s alleged sexual abuse of children. The Leaving Neverland director, Dan Reed, recently told the Guardian: “It kind of fills me with horror, the degree to which everyone can turn a blind eye to the fact that this guy was a bit of a monster.”

Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic, remains the highest-grossing music biopic of all time after taking $910m at the global box office, while Oppenheimer holds the record for overall biopic with $975m.

The Guardian

Taking to his Instagram handle on Monday, the 53-year-old rapper shared a snap of himself holding a sobriety chip from Alcoholics Anonymous with the caption “XVII. 

As the image went viral, Eminem’s fans flooded the comments section to show their love for the Lose Yourself hitmaker.

“Inspiring… Congratulations on this milestone… So happy for you and the man you are,” penned an Instagram user.

“Fantastic work. We are so glad you’re still here,” added another one.

“so happy for you and the man you are,” commented a third one.

In 2015, in an interview with Men’s Journal, Eminem opened up about his drug addiction.

“In 2007, I overdosed on pills, and I went into the hospital,” the Grammy rapper told the outlet. “I was close to 230 pounds. I’m not sure how I got so big, but I have ideas.”

He further said, “The coating on the Vicodin and the Valium I’d been taking for years leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating — and eating badly.”

“When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober,” continued the rapper.

“Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect,” added Eminem. It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another but one that’s good for them.’

The International News

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and first lady Rama Duwaji have been invited to the Met Gala — but won’t be attending, sources tell Page Six.

New York City’s mayor is traditionally invited by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the lavish event every year, but we’re told that Mamdani, 34, won’t be joining Condé Nast’s Anna Wintour and her coterie of celeb guests on Monday, May 4.

“He’s not coming,” said a source. “And it would be foolish if he did … can you imagine? It goes against everything he believes in.”

Indeed, the event is being financially subsidized by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos — currently the world’s third richest man — and his wife, Lauren Sánchez-Bezos, who have been named as lead donors and honorary co-chairs of the gala, which raises money for the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Met.

Mamdani has said,  “I don’t think that we should have billionaires.”

Despite this, a well-placed New York socialite told Page Six, “It’s such a New York institution. I think he should go. It’s a very New York moment.”

And NYC mayors have often attended the annual ball. Eric Adams turned up in 2022, his first year in office, with partner Tracey Collins, wearing a custom jacket by Laolu Senbanjo featuring NYC motifs and a “End Gun Violence” message.

Bill de Blasio attended in 2021, his final year in Gracie Mansion, wearing a tuxedo by Brooklyn designer Dreu Beckemberg to celebrate the post-pandemic return of the city’s fashion industry.

Mike Bloomberg was frequently a guest during his long tenure as mayor, from 2002 until 2013, and still goes to the ball every year with his daughter Georgina and his partner, Diana Taylor.

We have reached out to reps for Mamdani, the Met and Vogue.

Mamdani’s snub comes as Wintour recently praised his 28-year-old wife.

During an interview with Meryl Streep in Vogue, released last week, Wintour said: “I’m full of admiration for New York City’s new first lady because she looks so cool and wears a lot of vintage — young and modern and also entirely herself.”

Wintour seemingly ignored the fact that Duwaji, an illustrator, liked a social-media post that called the atrocity of Oct. 7 a “mass rape hoax” that was “fabricated” by the New York Times.

Old posts show Duwaji railed against US soldiers, praised a Palestinian, mourned the death of a Hamas propagandist — and dropped an N-bomb and a gay slur for good measure.

Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez infamously flouted House ethics rules by accepting more than $3,700 in rented apparel and other gifts for her notorious appearance at the 2021 Met Gala — including a glitzy gown emblazoned with “Tax The Rich” in blood-red letters and a free ticket for her then-boyfriend Riley Roberts.

The House Ethics Committee faulted the congresswoman for not complying with its regulation on gifts, but said it wouldn’t sanction AOC further.

Meanwhile, although we’re told that Meryl Streep — who plays a character based on Wintour in the upcoming “The Devil Wears Prada 2” movie — will not be attending, her co-star Anne Hathaway will be there.

Page Six has already reported that “Weapons” star Julia Garner will be walking the red carpet, along with Alexa Chung, Gabrielle Union, Rebecca Hall, and the NBA’s Jimmy Butler.

This year’s theme is “Costume Art,” with a dress code of “Fashion is Art.”

The host committee includes Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams and Anna Wintour.

YSL designer Anthony Vaccarello and his muse Zoë Kravitz are also co-chairing the Gala Host Committee, which includes Sabrina Carpenter, Doja Cat, Gwendoline Christie, Alex Consani, Misty Copeland, Elizabeth Debicki, Lena Dunham, Paloma Elsesser, LISA, new Vogue editor Chloe Malle, Sam Smith, Teyana Taylor, Lauren Wasser, Anna Weyant, A’ja Wilson and Yseult. 

PAGE SIX MAGAZINE