‘Michael’ Just Set A Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Record

InnovationGaming‘Michael’ Just Set A Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score RecordByPaul Tassi,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. News and opinion about video games, television, movies and the internet.Follow AuthorApr 24, 2026, 09:06am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.MichaelLionsgateMichael looks like it’s about to blow up the global box office, perhaps no great surprise for a biopic about Michael Jackson, one of the most famous musicians of all time. Some have already flocked to see it, and now Michael has just set a full-on Rotten Tomatoes audience score record in the wake of that.Critics mostly disliked Michael, giving it a 40% Rotten Tomatoes score, which puts it among the worst-reviewed biopics of the last few years. Audiences? They cannot get enough of it. With well over a thousand reviews in, Michael has a 96% audience score, the highest on Rotten Tomatoes for any biopic.The previous record-holder? That would be Austin Butler’s Elvis, one of the other most famous musicians in history. Critics liked it quite a bit more, giving it a 77%, so there was no yawning 56% gap between critics and audiences, as there currently is for Michael.MichaelRotten TomatoesThis split has sparked some discourse about whether critics were just “wrong,” or worse, purposefully biased against Michael Jackson due to the controversies and accusations in the latter half of his career/life, which the film does not cover because it simply does not cover those years. Though even the cast has teased a “sequel.” Critics, meanwhile, say they just don’t believe it’s a good movie, though there is a difference between what’s a “good” movie, perhaps, and what’s a clear crowd-pleaser. There are reports of theatrical experiences in which entire audiences sing and dance to the performances, which even critics rated as great.MORE FOR YOUOne weird thing happened relat...