The “King of Pop” reigns at the box office.
Michael, the musical biopic of Michael Jackson, earned the top spot both domestically and globally at the box office.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film stars Jaafar Jackson, Jackson’s nephew, and scored $97 million domestically and $217.3 million globally, according to Comscore. It’s the biggest-ever global open weekend for a musical biopic in movie history.
Michael beat out its competitors, such as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Project Hail Mary. Next weekend, The Devil Wears Prada 2 will seek to knock Michael from the top spot.
Speaking with Interview Magazine, Jaafar shared how he morphed into his legendary uncle.
“From day one, I was put in a position where I had to show up ready, because it started with the performances,” Jaafar said.
“Which I loved, too. It allowed me to get all that nervous energy out and just embody Michael on stage. Once they said “action,” I let loose,” Jaafar continued.
”But when we got to the dramatic scenes, I thought, “Oh, shoot. Now we’re going to the acting side.” Because I heard a few people were teasing me here and there.”
Also, in preparation for the film, Jaafar had access to Michael’s personal writings.
“It’s the type of experience that reshapes who you are for the better. To be able to live in those shoes, feel some of what he was feeling, see life through fresh eyes the way Michael did. It was important to feel all those things so I could come from a place of truth, rather than trying to imitate or copy the shape of the moves,” Jaafar said.
“I wanted to learn the meaning behind the move, the essence of it. What really helped was having access to Michael’s personal writings. His journaling, his poems, his mantras and affirmations, that was a breaking point for me.”