Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer says that his company’s film studio will likely delay the release of Antoine Fuqua’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” to next year, though remained light on details during an earnings call on Thursday.
“We’re excited about the 3½ hours of amazing footage from producer Graham King and director Antoine Fuqua, and we will be announcing a definitive release strategy & timing in the next few weeks,” Feltheimer said. “I would note that it is likely we will move ‘Michael’ out of the fiscal year which will impact fiscal ’26 financial results but will bolster an already strong fiscal ’27 slate.”
Based on Feltheimer’s comments on the fiscal year schedule, “Michael” would move its release back to at least April 2026, if not later. Lionsgate is handling domestic distribution for the film with Universal handling overseas release.
“Michael” is currently set for a release this October, with Jackson played by the pop star’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson. Colman Domingo and Nia Long also star as family heads Joe and Katherine Jackson, with Miles Teller as Jackson’s attorney John Branca.
A teaser trailer was exclusively shown by King to movie theater owners at CinemaCon in 2024, but the film was noticeably absent from Lionsgate’s presentation at the exhibitor trade show this year.
Should “Michael” move to next year, it would join a 2026 Lionsgate slate headlined by the “Hunger Games” prequel “Sunrise on the Reaping,” set for a Thanksgiving release. The studio has also set Kingdom Story Company’s sequel to “I Can Only Imagine” for a February release and also plans to release Mel Gibson’s “The Resurrection of the Christ,” a sequel to his 2004 biblical epic “The Passion of the Christ,” on a date to be determined next year.
