Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson, is headed to digital streaming on Tuesday, June 9, even as it keeps playing in theaters. The film will arrive on premium video on demand, giving home viewers a chance to buy it for $24.99 or rent it for $19.99 for a 48-hour period.
That timing matters because the movie is still in the middle of a theatrical run that began April 24 and has already put up serious numbers. As of Thursday, Michael had earned nearly $346.6 million domestically, $514.1 million internationally and $860.7 million worldwide, leaving it within reach of the all-time music biopic record of $911 million set by Bohemian Rhapsody.
The release also widens the audience for a film built around one of pop music’s most familiar stories. Michael begins with the 10-year-old singer and his rise to stardom with his brothers in the Jackson 5, then follows his climb into adulthood through Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad before ending in 1988 as he launches the Bad concert tour. Alongside Jaafar Jackson, the cast includes Colman Domingo and Nia Long as Joe and Katherine Jackson, and Miles Teller as longtime manager John Branca.
That box office chase is what makes the streaming move more complicated than a standard post-theatrical rollout. Michael has finished in the top five domestically in each of its first six weeks, including a No. 4 finish over May 29-31 with nearly $12 million in ticket sales, then another $6 million Monday through Friday this week. It has not opened in Japan yet, and the film is still pushing toward the benchmark even as audiences can now watch it at home through Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Prime Video and YouTube Movies & TV.
For now, the next fixed date is Tuesday’s PVOD debut. What comes after that is the unresolved part: whether Michael can keep pulling enough theatrical business to surpass Bohemian Rhapsody while also finding a second life with home viewers.
