Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson, has picked up a new awards nomination. The film was named among the nominees for the Gotham Audience Award when the Gotham Film and Media Institute announced its 2026 nominations on Tuesday, October 27.
It is the latest honour in a remarkable year for the film and its 30-year-old star, who had never acted professionally before taking on the role of his late uncle. The winner will be announced at the Gotham Awards ceremony in New York on Monday, November 30.
What the nomination means
The Gotham Awards are one of the first big honours of awards season, and this year they singled out 42 feature films and 25 performances across 11 categories. The Audience Award is back after a six-year break, and Michael is one of eight films in the running.
The other nominees are Backrooms, La Bola Negra, The Drama, The Invite, Obsession, Project Hail Mary and You Can See Everything. The award is decided by Gotham members, not the public, and it reflects a film’s cultural reach and box-office performance rather than critical opinion alone. You can see the full list of Gotham nominees for every category.
There is one detail worth knowing: this nomination belongs to the film, not to any single actor. If Michael wins, the award goes to director Antoine Fuqua and producer Graham King, the two men who steered the project. Jaafar Jackson was not named in the acting categories this time around.
That is still a strong result for a film that only opened in April. The Gothams have a habit of setting the tone for the months that follow, and a nomination here keeps Michael firmly in the awards conversation.
A second Gotham honour on the same night
The nomination is not the only Gotham honour coming Michael’s way. Earlier in October, the Gotham Film and Media Institute announced that the cast and filmmakers behind the film will receive the Gotham Musical Tribute at the same ceremony on November 30.
The tribute will honour the performers behind the record-breaking biopic, and Jaafar Jackson will be there alongside Fuqua, King, Colman Domingo and Nia Long. The Musical Tribute was only created last year, when it went to Song Sung Blue, so Michael is among the first films to receive it.
Between the nomination and the tribute, the Michael team will be one of the most visible groups in the room at Cipriani Wall Street on the night.
The billion-dollar film behind it
The awards attention follows a box-office run that broke records. Michael opened on April 24, 2026, with a $97.2 million domestic opening weekend, and went on to earn more than $1 billion worldwide. It became the first biopic in history to cross the billion-dollar mark, passing Bohemian Rhapsody, and the biggest release Lionsgate has ever had.
The film follows Michael Jackson from his early days in the Jackson 5 to his rise as the biggest entertainer in the world, with the story ending in 1988. It was directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by John Logan and produced by Graham King, with Nia Long and Colman Domingo playing parents Katherine and Joe Jackson, alongside Laura Harrier, Miles Teller and Juliano Krue Valdi.
For Jaafar Jackson, the numbers carried a personal meaning. Two years before a frame was shot, he wrote down a private list of goals for the film. One was to beat Bohemian Rhapsody. The other was to cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office. He did both.
Who is Jaafar Jackson
Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson was born on July 25, 1996, in Los Angeles, the son of Jermaine Jackson and Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza. He is Michael Jackson’s nephew, and he grew up surrounded by the Jackson family, though he has said he did not fully grasp the scale of the family name until he was about six years old.
Before Michael, he had never acted professionally. He released his debut single, “Got Me Singing”, in 2019 and was building a music career when he was cast in late 2023. Preparation for the role became a full-time job for roughly two years, including singing and dance training to capture his uncle’s voice and movement.
The work paid off. He won Best Actor at the Astra Awards earlier this year, and awards forecasters at Gold Derby now place him eighth in the early odds for a Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama Actor. On October 30, he was also named among the eight honourees for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s 2027 Virtuosos Award, which recognises the year’s most talked-about performances.
Awards season is already taking shape across film and television, with recent winners such as Noah Wyle, who took the Emmy for The Pitt in September, setting the tone for a busy few months.
What happens next
Jackson is not standing still. He has already wrapped his second film, Supermax, opposite Will Smith, after 40 days of shooting in Australia, and he has said he is ready to play his uncle again if Lionsgate goes ahead with a sequel.
The studio confirmed in May that a sequel is in development, though no date has been set. Lionsgate motion picture chief Adam Fogelson has said production could start at the end of this year or early next, with a release targeted for 2027 or 2028.
First, though, comes November 30. On that night, the Gotham Awards will decide the Audience Award, and the Michael team will collect its Musical Tribute. For a first-time actor who set himself a billion-dollar goal two years before filming began, it is another night that would once have seemed impossible.
Frequently asked questions
What award was Michael nominated for at the Gothams?
Michael was nominated for the Gotham Audience Award at the 36th Gotham Film Awards. The nominees were announced on October 27, 2026, and the winner will be announced on November 30, 2026, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York.
Who plays Michael Jackson in the film?
Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, plays him in his acting debut. He is the son of Jermaine Jackson and had never acted professionally before the role.
How much did Michael earn at the box office?
The film earned more than $1 billion worldwide, becoming the first biopic in history to cross that mark and Lionsgate’s biggest release ever. It opened on April 24, 2026, with $97.2 million domestically.
Is there a Michael sequel?
A sequel is in development, Lionsgate confirmed in May 2026, but no date has been set. Jaafar Jackson has said he is ready to return, and production could start at the end of 2026 or early 2027.
