There’s been absolutely no doubt about the massive global box office dominance of Michael—which is steadily tracking toward the historic $1 billion mark. A recent Lionsgate earnings call, however, has given us more insight on the progress of the sequel. During the call, Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson dropped insight that the follow-up is already significantly further along than anticipated, thanks to extensive production material and footage captured during the initial filming window.

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“We think we’ve got 25 to 30 percent of a second movie already shot from the prior production activity,” Fogelson confirmed to investors. “Undoubtedly that 25% to 30% will be material,” he continued, adding, “We can go forwards and backwards in telling this story. There are so many other events that happened, even in the time frame of the original movie, that weren’t touched upon.”

The Synopsis

Michael tracks the meteoric rise of Michael Jackson from the early days of the Jackson 5 to the peak of the Thriller and Bad eras. With a reported $155 million production budget (some report this as being $200 million), the film had high expectations to meet. The film has not only met them but has now officially on track to surpass $800 million globally this weekend.

Author Bio

Jael Rucker is the founder of Decked Out Magazine. She has previously worked as the Associate Commerce Editor at PureWow, focusing on analytics and trends to pitch stories and optimize articles that build and engage their audience. Her work has also been seen in Footwear News and WWD. Prior to 2024, she was the style and pop culture editor at ONE37pm for over three years, contributing numerous product reviews, brand profiles and fashion trend reports, which included interviewing Steph Curry, Snoop Dogg and more.