{"id":464681,"date":"2026-05-02T08:51:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T08:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/464681\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T08:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T08:51:20","slug":"jackson-family-eager-to-cash-in-after-217m-opening-weekend-for-michael","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/464681\/","title":{"rendered":"Jackson family eager to cash in after $217M opening weekend for ‘Michael’"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a record-smashing $217 million opening weekend <\/a>for biopic \u201cMichael\u201d at the box office, the Jackson family have burst back into the spotlight \u2014 and are intent on taking center stage.<\/p>\n

The musical family see the movie as the ultimate validation<\/a> of Michael, who died suddenly in 2009 while rehearsing a comeback tour, and a great opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe success of this movie didn\u2019t just bring Michael back,\u201d one family source told The Post. \u201cIt brought all of them back. The phones are ringing again, the invites are coming again, and the family knows exactly what this moment is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jaafar Jackson as Michael Jackson in a still from the biopic \u201cMichael\u201d which surpassed its expected box office opening of $60 million to take $217 million in a single weekend. \u00a9Lions Gate\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

(L-R) Prince Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Jaafar Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, and Marlon Jackson at the \u201cMichael\u201d screening in Gary, Indiana, just before the film\u2019s release on April 13. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The movie itself was a family affair, with Michael\u2019s nephew, Jaafar, playing his uncle and his eldest son, Prince<\/a>, as an executive producer. His estate was also instrumental in bringing the movie to the screen.<\/p>\n

Their bet that a feelgood movie about Michael\u2019s career highs would capture the public\u2019s attention, after years of accusations and lurid speculation around him abusing children<\/a>, paid off.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a long time, everything around Michael felt heavy. Now it\u2019s light again. It\u2019s a celebration, and the family is enjoying every second of it,\u201d another insider said.<\/p>\n

Renewed discussions about a Jackson family tour are already underway, with efforts to include Michael\u2019s younger sister, Janet, as headliner.<\/p>\n

Sources say La Toya, Rebbie, Jermaine, Jackie, and Marlon are already committed, and if the estate allows for it, they will name the tour \u201cThriller.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMichael\u201d director Antoine Fuqua with Jaafar giving direction during filming of the movie. \u00a9Lions Gate\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/p>\n

Ironically, for those who saw the movie, Michael was never able to tour his groundbreaking 1982 \u201cThriller\u201d album as his controlling father, Joseph Jackson, forced him to do the \u201cVictory\u201d tour with his brothers instead.<\/p>\n

The movie\u2019s continuing success is also a boon to the family financially, as many members were brought in as executive producers \u2014 except for Janet and Randy<\/a>, who both chose not to participate. Insiders say the total payout reached well into the seven figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were paid, and they were paid well. The estate made sure of that because they wanted the family involved and aligned,\u201d said the insider. Planning for the film\u2019s next chapter is also underway.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Studio] Lionsgate and the Jackson Estate haven\u2019t made a definitive decision yet, but the family is supportive as long as the project is executed properly and the false allegations against Michael are not given excessive attention,\u201d said a source.<\/p>\n

Janet Jackson, pictured in 2025, has so far declined to be involved in the movie, but may return to the family fold for a tour with her brothers and sisters. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The material is already there. Director Antoine Fuqua has said there\u2019s \u201cabsolutely\u201d enough footage for a follow-up \u2014 including parts of Michael\u2019s life the first film didn\u2019t touch. Roughly 30% of what could become a second film is already in the can, according to insiders.<\/p>\n

By most accounts, the first film already leaned heavily on Michael\u2019s most powerful music catalog \u2014 the Jackson 5 years through his 1988 \u201cThriller\u201d album. What\u2019s left comes with far more complicated territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know they used a lot of the music people came to hear already,\u201d a family source said. \u201cSo now it\u2019s about telling the story differently \u2014 deeper, more personal \u2014 without losing what made the first one work.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Jackson brothers pictured around 1970, with father Joe Jackson (center). From Left: Jackie, Tito, Marlon, Jermaine, Michael (right), and Randy. Michael Ochs Archives<\/p>\n

The estate and filmmakers are reluctant to tackle Jackson\u2019s 2005 trial in California on 14 counts, including child molestation and providing alcohol to a minor, charges he was unanimously acquitted of, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n

They would also like to avoid the controversial Martin Bashir interview that preceded his 2003 arrest, with insiders saying one idea that\u2019s been discussed is ending a second film earlier \u2014 around 2001.<\/p>\n

That moment gives them a clean landing point: Jackson\u2019s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, followed by his return to the stage at Madison Square Garden where other superstars like Whitney Houston, Beyonce, Usher, NSYNC, Luther Vandross, Liz Taylor, Marlon Brando, and Britney Spears all performed in a salute to Michael on September 7 and 10 of\u00a02001.<\/p>\n

Sources say the next film is also expected to lean heavily into Michael\u2019s personal life \u2014 including his marriages to Elvis Presley\u2019s only daughter<\/a>, Lisa Marie, and later to his nurse, Debbie Rowe, who gave birth to Michael\u2019s oldest son, Prince, and his only daughter, Paris. The mother of his second son, Bigi, has never been publicly divulged.<\/p>\n

Michael\u2019s sons Prince (left) and Bigi (right) paying homage to their father\u2019s style at a premiere for the movie in Germany recently. Getty Images for Universal Pictures<\/p>\n

Lisa Marie\u2019s inclusion could be important as Michael publicly admitted his attraction to her dated back to the early 1980s when she was a teenager. Including Presley and Shields would also help depict Jackson as romantically linked to a females<\/a>, sources said.<\/p>\n

Insiders also believe a second film will frame much of the period from 1988 onward through Michael\u2019s own words \u2014 his repeated statements about not having a childhood and his deep desire to have children of his own, a theme that carried through his relationships, including his marriage to Rowe.<\/p>\n

Such emotional threads trace back to Michael\u2019s earliest close bonds \u2014 including his long friendship with Brooke Shields and his deeply personal relationship with Elizabeth Taylor, one of the few people he trusted completely. Sources say Taylor\u2019s influence and support will be a key emotional anchor in the second film, including how she stood by him publicly and privately during difficult periods.<\/p>\n

Randy Jackson (left) has also declined to be part of the movie and tour so far. He is pictured with Michael in 1983. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cElizabeth was family to him,\u201d a source said. \u201cNot Hollywood family \u2014 real family. He leaned on her, cried on her shoulders and she never left his side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Insiders recalled Michael\u2019s over-the-top generosity toward Taylor,<\/a> including buying her expensive jewelry and sending staffers across the world \u2014 even to places like Switzerland \u2014 to track down gifts he thought she would love.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe adored her,\u201d another source said. \u201cIf he saw something she might like, he had to get it. It didn\u2019t matter where it was or what it cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

The music will still carry the film. Sources say the sequel will lean into Jackson\u2019s global dominance during the era of his 1991 \u201cDangerous\u201d album and tour, which proved his reach worldwide \u2014 along with a return to his historic 1993 Super Bowl performance, a landmark show, which set the template for all halftime shows since.<\/p>\n

Michael performing in Texas in 1991, when he was the largest act on the planet, at the peak of his touring powers. WireImage<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to remind people just how big he was,\u201d another source said. \u201cThose performances, those interviews \u2014 that\u2019s the foundation. That\u2019s what people connect to.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while the allegations that reshaped Michael\u2019s later life remain part of the timeline, sources say the plan is to approach them without naming accusers and focus on Jackson defending himself publicly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re not ignoring that it happened,\u201d a source said. \u201cBut they\u2019re not going to re-live it the way people expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sources say Jackson\u2019s estate invested close to $150 million <\/a>in the first film, but with it on track to cross the $1 billion mark, they\u2019re almost certain to helm the follow up.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the family is completely behind a second film, a third film,\u201d the source added. \u201cThe family is going to ride that for as long as they can. To borrow a phrase [from Michael], they \u2018won\u2019t stop till they get enough,\u2019 and this family never gets enough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After a record-smashing $217 million opening weekend for biopic \u201cMichael\u201d at the box office, the Jackson family have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[264],"tags":[18,117,1239,19,17,46769,25129,337,26459,26483],"class_list":{"0":"post-464681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-hollywood","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-janet-jackson","14":"tag-michael-jackson","15":"tag-music","16":"tag-paris-jackson","17":"tag-sequels"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116504132857013778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}