Lionsgate executives said production on the sequel to their $1bn-grossing Michael Jackson biopic Michael could start as early as the end of this year and separately weighed in on the ongoing Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) merger saga in a Q1 earnings call.
“We are hard at work in making sure we can put together a sequel that’s worthy of the success and the enthusiasm that the first movie generated and we’re fully engaged with everybody,” film group chairman Adam Fogelson said on Thursday afternoon.
“While we are not ready to announce everything at the moment I will tell you we are targeting a production start towards the end of this year and early next and think that somewhere between the end of calendar ’27 and the first half of calendar ’28 would be a current thought of where the movie could go.”
Michael was a key driver in Lionsgate’s Q1 earnings. It opened in late April and went on to become Lionsgate’s first $1bn film and the biggest biopic in industry history, earning $371m in North America and more than $643m though international distribution partner Universal.
Fogelson declined to discuss budget but said the studio would take advantage of unused footage including “some big musical sequences”. The original film’s budget reportedly cost in the $150m-$200m range.
Addressing the Paramount-WBD merger that is now in limbo awaiting an antitrust trial in March 2027, CEO Jon Feltheimer said he was in favour of the transaction closing.
“Uncertainty and delay is not good for anybody,” Feltheimer told analysts, adding later: “I guess I would say I’m in favour of this transaction, but most importantly I’m in favour of certainty and getting the delay out of it.”
Lionsgate Television and Paramount CEO David Ellison’s Skydance Television co-produced the 2014 historical series Manhattan and Feltheimer said he was “impressed” with the media mogul. “He loves content and I have no reason not to believe that he will be investing heavily in content, whether it’s a 30-film slate or whether it’s a bolstered Paramount+,” he said.
Feltheimer added that a competitive Paramount+ would be better for Lionsgate in terms of the opportunities it creates for original programming and library sales, and said Lionsgate had already sold a new television show to Paramount+ and was in talks with Paramount to co-finance films.
Lionsgate reported total Q1 revenues of $776.6m after a 47.7% year-on-year increase, with operating income of $25.6m, net loss of $28.8m, and adjusted net income of $18.9m.
In the film division, revenues of $587.3m gained 119.7% over Q1 2025 and profit reached a Q1 record $105m, powered by Michael and the ancillary performance of The Housemaid.
The television segment revenue of $189.3m fell 34.4% year-on-year and profit of $10.2m dropped 60.8%, which executives attributed to the timing of episodic deliveries. That said, they expect scripted deliveries in fiscal 2027 to double the number in fiscal 2026.
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