Michael Is a Box Office Smash Because It Gave Jackson Super-Fans What They Wanted — a Resurrection, Not a Crucifixion‎

Jukebox biopics such as Michael and Elvis exist not as referendums on complicated artists but as rituals for the most intense segments of fandom to commune with the dead. The film’s lead actor – whether it’s Jafaar Jackson as his uncle Michael or Austin Butler as Presley – serves as the host-shaman who can miraculously summon the beloved icon back from the afterlife for one last command performance, with cinemas standing in as the churches where these quasi-religious experiences play out to the tune of hundreds of millions in ticket sales.