Lionsgate Confirms ‘Michael’ Is Coming to Streaming, and Fans Won’t Have to Wait Long

‘Michael’ has spent the past several months rewriting box office history, and now Lionsgate is bringing the record-breaking biopic home sooner than many industry watchers anticipated. After becoming the studio’s highest-grossing film of all time, the Michael Jackson story is officially making its way to a new platform for fans who missed it in theaters.

The film first hit theaters back in April, immediately becoming a cultural phenomenon thanks to Jaafar Jackson’s breakout performance as his real-life uncle. Since then, ‘Michael’ has continued piling up milestones, eventually crossing the billion-dollar mark worldwide and cementing itself as the highest-grossing music biopic and biographical film of all time.

Now, according to a new announcement from Lionsgate, ‘Michael’ will begin streaming on Starz beginning August 10, arriving just 110 days after its April theatrical debut. The film will also make its official television premiere that same day at 7 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time, available across all Starz apps, streaming, and on-demand platforms.

That timeline represents a notably lengthy theatrical window by modern standards, especially for a film that has already made its way through digital rental and purchase platforms like Prime Video and Apple TV following a June 9 premium video on demand debut. Lionsgate appears to have deliberately stretched out the film’s exclusivity window to maximize its box office potential before moving toward home viewing options.

That strategy has clearly paid off given the numbers involved. ‘Michael’ opened to 97.2 million dollars domestically and 217 million dollars worldwide, the best opening weekend ever recorded for a musical biopic, before eventually surpassing Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ to become the highest grossing biographical film in history regardless of genre.

The film also managed to overtake ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’s’ 911 million dollar global haul to claim the title of highest grossing music biopic ever made. With a 97 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A minus CinemaScore, ‘Michael’ has resonated strongly with general audiences even as critical reception remained more mixed throughout its run.

Jaafar Jackson’s performance in the lead role has drawn particular praise throughout the film’s theatrical run. Variety critic Owen Gleiberman specifically highlighted how the actor captured his uncle’s look, voice, and electrostatic movement while also conveying the mixture of delicacy and steel that defined who Michael Jackson truly was, in a review published by Variety.

That kind of praise has already helped set the stage for what comes next for the franchise. According to reporting on the film’s ongoing development, Lionsgate has a sequel actively in the works, with producer Graham King previously indicating that any follow up would likely shift focus toward exploring Jackson’s later creative years and legacy.

Director Antoine Fuqua’s take on the pop icon’s story chronicled his journey from a child star performing alongside his brothers in the Jackson 5 through his rise as a solo force in the music industry, ending as he embarked on his groundbreaking Bad World Tour in the late 1980s. The film’s ensemble cast included Colman Domingo and Nia Long as Jackson’s parents, alongside Miles Teller as attorney John Branca.

With its Starz debut now locked in and box office receipts still climbing internationally, ‘Michael’ shows no signs of fading from the cultural conversation anytime soon. For fans who have been waiting to revisit Jaafar Jackson’s acclaimed performance from the comfort of home, the countdown to August 10 is officially on.

‘Michael’ begins streaming on Starz on August 10.

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