The Michael trailer just did a victory lap around the internet. It blew past a big benchmark, it’s Lionsgate’s biggest trailer launch ever, and yes, the discourse dragged Taylor Swift into it. Here’s what’s actually in the footage, who’s making this thing, and why fans are yelling in all-caps.
The numbers everyone is talking about
In its first 24 hours, the trailer for Michael racked up 116.2 million views, which is a new high-water mark for any music biopic or concert-film trailer. The previous titleholder was Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour with 96.1 million. On top of that, this is now Lionsgate’s biggest trailer debut ever.
'Wow, MJ just moonwalked past Taylor's record — 116.2M views in 24 hours? That’s legendary energy right there.'
That is the tone online: fans celebrating the number, cracking jokes about MJ still setting records long after his passing, and predicting the movie is going to keep smashing milestones.
What’s in the trailer (and who’s behind the movie)
The footage puts Jaafar Jackson — Michael Jackson’s nephew and Jermaine Jackson’s son — front and center as the King of Pop. He’s got the voice, the swagger, the precision, and the iconic moves. The teaser flashes the moonwalk, Thriller-era choreography, big-stage recreations, and a nod to legendary producer Quincy Jones. The resemblance in a few shots is frankly eerie.
It’s not a small-scale project either — it’s from the team behind Bohemian Rhapsody, with Antoine Fuqua directing and John Logan writing. The story is aiming to run the full arc: childhood prodigy to global phenomenon, with both the public victories and the private turmoil.
- Title: Michael
- U.S. release date: April 24, 2026
- Studio/distributor: Lionsgate
- Director: Antoine Fuqua
- Screenwriter: John Logan
- Lead: Jaafar Jackson (Michael Jackson’s nephew, son of Jermaine Jackson)
- What the trailer shows: moonwalk and Thriller choreography, dynamic stage recreations, and a Quincy Jones appearance
- Scope: from Jackson’s early breakthroughs to peak superstardom, mixing the highs with the personal struggles
- Trailer records: 116.2M views in 24 hours (most-viewed music biopic/concert-film trailer), topping Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’s 96.1M; Lionsgate’s biggest trailer debut
About that Taylor Swift chatter
The trailer’s record inevitably got compared to Taylor Swift, and the conversation spilled into her latest album. Here’s the simple version: Taylor released The Life of a Showgirl on October 3, 2025, which makes it ineligible for the next Grammys cycle; it will be eligible for the 2027 ceremony. Coverage around the album has been mixed. Rolling Stone has reported allegations that some ideas echo work by artists including the Jonas Brothers, the Jackson 5, and Pixies — allegations, to be clear, not settled facts. Lyrically, critics say it does not push into new territory the way folklore or Midnights did.
Context: Taylor was a leading nominee at the 2025 Grammys for her previous record but didn’t take home any awards that year. Despite that, her fanbase is fully behind Showgirl, and the sales are huge. Bottom line, she’ll still be a serious contender when eligibility rolls around.
The takeaway
Michael just set a trailer record and put a spotlight back on the music that made him, well, the King of Pop. If the teaser is a real taste of the final film, we’re looking at a big, crowd-pleasing, stadium-scale biopic. Michael opens April 24, 2026 in the U.S. What did you think of the trailer?