One of the biggest movies of the year—and biggest biopics of all time—is headed home.
On Monday, June 27, STARZ confirmed that the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” will debut on its streaming service later this summer. This comes after the movie, starring the late Jackson’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson in the title role, broke box office records.
The film also stars Nia Long, Colman Domingo, Laura Harrier, and Miles Teller.
‘Michael’ Streaming Date Confirmed
In a press release, STARZ confirmed it will be the first exclusive streaming home for “Michael,” which has already been available to buy or rent on digital platforms.
The movie will premiere on both the STARZ app and all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms on August 10. The STARZ channel will also hold the movie’s exclusive television premiere that same day, at 7pm ET/PT.
The movie debuting on STARZ should come as no surprise, as Lionsgate—the studio that produced the film—re-upped a deal with the streamer in 2025, giving STARZ exclusive rights to the studio’s theatrical films in the first pay-television and SVOD windows.
According to Deadline, that includes not only “Michael,” but also recent hits including “The Housemaid,” as well as the upcoming “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.”
What Is ‘Michael’ About?
As the title suggests, “Michael” is about Michael Jackson, and comes from director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “The Equalizer”).
Per the official synopsis, the movie “is the cinematic portrayal of the life and legacy of one of the most influential artists the world has ever known.”
“The film traces Michael Jackson’s journey from his extraordinary beginnings as the breakout star of the Jackson 5 to the visionary artist whose unmatched talent and relentless ambition made him the biggest entertainer in the world,” says STARZ. “Featuring unforgettable performances from his early solo career and an intimate look at the man behind the music, Michael gives audiences a front-row seat to the icon like never before. This is where his story begins.”
The movie starts in the ’60s with the formation of the Jackson 5, and goes through 1988, as the icon embarks on his first solo tour following the massive success of the “Thriller” album.
Massive ‘Michael’ Success
As mentioned above, “Michael” is the highest-grossing biopic of all time, besting the success of 2018’s Queen film”Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s the first biopic to also make more than $1 billion at the box office, as well as the biggest movie to be based on an actual person, surpassing 2023’s “Oppenheimer.”
According to Variety, the movie is also the largest release of all time for Lionsgate, and the first from the studio to make more than $1 billion. Prior to “Michael,” their biggest releases were were 2013’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” with $865 million and 2012’s “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2″ with $850 million
Thanks to the film’s massive success, a sequel is in production.
“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. So we’re very, very confident that we’ve got an incredibly entertaining movie that will appeal once again to a global audience as the pieces come together,” said Lionsgate Studios Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson in an earnings call, per Deadline.
“We believe there is a lot more story to tell and a lot more music to share,” added CEO Jon Feltheimer.
