Interestingly, though, I didn't hear it once this year. Another one that is very popular that I also didn't hear this year is "Monster Mash".

A fun way to release the MJ biopic would be releasing it on 31st October, lol. Signaling that he was a monster without slandering him within the film.

While this will do well in October (and November looks strong too) it does leave the first half of the year wanting in terms of big tentpoles.

2025 BO potential seems anaemic right now. I'm thinking a dip from 2024 (an expected down year) could be on the cards.

So apparently HBO is moving forward with a Finding Neverland sequel 6 years later to be released in March. Seems this is going to raise awareness of the biopic later in the year even more.

Apparently the MJ biopic moved because the family that MJ settled with in the 90s, who were the focus of the entire third act of the film, had signed an agreement w the MJ estate that as part of the settlement they were not to be portrayed in any media representation that licensed MJ's music. Therefore the film now has to somehow rewrite and change the entire third act. So we may actually end up getting a totally sanitized version that avoids the pedo allegations. IMO this would go down extremely badly with critics and a big chunk of the public too.

That would be disappointing.

That family were legit extortionists though. For real. The dad attempted an obvious shake down and had his bluff called, though he still ended up with a lot of money in the end. A grand jury decided not to even attempt a further review as there was, quite literally, no evidence to support their claims other than what the kid said while drugged up and being coached by his rich dentist father. The kid later disavowed his parents and said they coached him. Had the film gone that route, it definitely would have had the happier "Michael really didn't do it" type of ending.

TBH the film should just portrayed what people know factually happened and not take a position beyond it. His relationship with kids is very weird but nobody really knows if it went further. The story of a kid star deprived of childhood who never grows up mentally despite becoming an all-time megastar and develops all sorts of personality problems was always going to be the heart of this film and shouldn't be shied away from. He was flawed person and product of the 1980s big excess machine and 1990s take down tabloid culture.

The film should have always ended with the actual trial and subsequent acquittal with the main story being the toll that his lifestyle took on him.

I mean most convicted pedophiles there is no “proof”. If it was anyone but Michael Jackson everyone would believe he was guilty.

Unless it’s caught on tape there’s never any “proof”.

Or if he came inside any of them.

Not if they showered in between the assault and the trial

Everyone did believe he was guilty back in 1993 lol. His relationship with kids was weird AF.

But of course there can be proof. The kids could have marks and should be able to describe the perp naked, etc. It's all gross stuff but there is proof. The kids in this case all failed. The parents of these kids were like gnats looking for money. One of the allegation was literally "MJ was tickling me and I think he tickled my leg" = sexual assault lawsuit. The LAPD were caught using crazy tactics on them too. Does not mean MJ was innocent but combine with the Dad in the first case clearly being a money hungry extortionist, it is very questionable.

I've always thought he was guilty but there is a (reasonably convincing) school of thought that he was set up as well. His lifestyle and hanging around with kids just makes it more difficult to believe him and easier to set him up/take him down.

Didn’t the one kid accurately describe the location of a mole on Jackson’s penis, and didn’t workers at neverland ranch witness weird stuff happening, like kissing, even if they never witnessed phallation?

No, and the grand jury that declined to indict him saw the description provided by the young fan and compared it to how Jackson actually looked, it was said to be vastly off.

I think MJ was a pedo, if he's innocent it's cause he never went through with it and was content with just having clean sleepovers with boys he was attracted to. But I'd lean guilty overall. Woody Allen is innocent.

Lionsgate might splt the movie rather than just reshoot the third act. Michael Part One and Michael: For Bad ?

We will probably never know if he was truly a pedo or not but it always struck me as weird that the family would take $20M and not file criminal charges. If my child was molested I wouldn't rest until that person was rotting in jail. You can then sue in civil court also and get money if you want. But what parent would accept money in lieu of that person facing a trial?

They should just reshoot the third act with the 2005 trial instead of the 1993 allegations. The trial would make a much more fitting climax for the film. Then end the film by showing him decaying and lonely in his Neverland ranch mansion ala Citizen Kane.