The King of Pop continues to reign
The Michael movie rounds to almost $33 million in its fourth week at the box office, solidifying the film as one of this year’s biggest releases in Australia.
Internationally, the movie delivered the biggest opening weekend for a musical biopic ever, amassing over $300 million AUD globally.
It also marked the second-biggest worldwide debut of the year, behind Universal’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.
There’s something to be said about Michael Jackson, given the film has been so successful, regardless of people’s feelings towards him.
As a musician, he was masterful, a natural-born performer. Music flowed so deeply within him that it manifested in every facet of his career.
Sonically, in the perfectionism of his work. In his physicality – his movement and dance – immortalised forever in that iconic 1983 Live Motown 25 performance, the genesis of his iconic moonwalk, which Jaafar Jackson epically recreates in the film.
In some of the most memorable music of his career, Michael Jackson worked closely with Quincy Jones, producing 34 tracks spanning across his three most revolutionary albums, Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad.
Together, their collaboration was powerful, magnetic. They expertly crafted music that will forever exist at a calibre unattainable in the influx of digital music production and rise of AI use in music.
The film runs for just 130 minutes, a curated snapshot of a legend’s legacy. We can only assume the natural draw of viewers comes from a man with such renown, coined “The King of Pop, Rock and Soul” by Elizabeth Taylor at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards.
Naturally, the film creates conversation on Michael’s personal life, the notable absence of scandal and specific figures from his story. But ultimately, Michael is bringing an audience into movie theatres and triggering nostalgia for not only his music, but music as it was at the time of his success.
The blockbuster success of Michael shows that even 16 years after his death, The King of Pop continues to prove his place as one of the most influential artists in history.
