How Antoine Fuqua Turned ‘Michael’ Into the Highest-Grossing Music Biopic of All Time

When Lionsgate handed Antoine Fuqua the keys to the Michael Jackson story, they were taking a calculated bet on a filmmaker who had spent his entire career preparing for exactly this opportunity. That choice just resulted in the most successful music biopic ever made.

Michael has pulled in $911.9 million worldwide, passing Bohemian Rhapsody to claim the all-time record for the genre. It posted the largest global opening weekend a music biopic has ever seen, broke records across 65 international markets and is closing in on becoming Lionsgate’s highest-grossing release in company history. 

Even for a film about a figure as world-renowned as the late King of Pop, those are staggering numbers; however, they feel less surprising once you look at the filmmaker’s track record.

Fuqua first broke through directing music videos in the 1990s for stars such as Prince, Stevie Wonder, Toni Braxton and Coolio before moving into feature films. Training Day won Denzel Washington an Oscar in 2001, the Equalizer trilogy pulled in nearly $600 million and movies like Southpaw and Emancipation proved he could do more than just action.

Photo credit: Lionsgate

His link to the “Thriller” hitmaker ran deeper than the résumé, too. Fuqua got his start making the same kind of music videos Jackson helped redefine, and the two had actually crossed paths. Years ago, while Fuqua was up to direct one of the singer’s videos, Jackson called him out of the blue, just to say he admired the work.

“The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am,” Fuqua said in a statement when he joined the project. “For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson.”

Producer Graham King, who also made Bohemian Rhapsody, saw the fit early. “Antoine’s films provide personal perspectives of larger-than-life characters that continuously captivate global audiences,” King said when Fuqua signed on, adding that he was confident the director would make a film that both celebrated and revealed new sides of Jackson himself.

Fuqua cast the Grammy winner’s real-life nephew, Jaafar Jackson, in the lead, shot at the actual Jackson family compound in Encino and rebuilt the exact locations and costumes from some of Michael’s most famous performances. For Fuqua, the project was a “spiritual journey” and a full-circle moment. “Michael was a big influence on my career as a director,” he said in a video released by Lionsgate, “seeing how he refused to get put in a box as just a Black artist only.” 

Now attention turns to what comes next. A sequel is already in motion, and Fuqua is soon set to direct Hannibal, the Netflix feature reuniting him with Denzel Washington. With one record-breaking chapter already done, the excitement to see him finish the story is only growing among fans.

When Lionsgate handed Antoine Fuqua the keys to the Michael Jackson story, they were taking a calculated bet on a filmmaker who had spent his entire career preparing for exactly this opportunity. That choice just resulted in the most successful music biopic ever made.

Michael has pulled in $911.9 million worldwide, passing Bohemian Rhapsody to claim the all-time record for the genre. It posted the largest global opening weekend a music biopic has ever seen, broke records across 65 international markets and is closing in on becoming Lionsgate’s highest-grossing release in company history. 

Even for a film about a figure as world-renowned as the late King of Pop, those are staggering numbers; however, they feel less surprising once you look at the filmmaker’s track record.