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Twinkle-toed Michael Jackson fans are using screenings of the singer’s new biopic to show off their dancing skills – and the results are dividing cinemagoers, with some saying “don’t stop ‘til you get enough” and others urging them to “beat it”.
Despite a mauling from critics, Michael is proving to be a box office hit, setting a new record for music biopics in its opening weekend.
Many of these showings are turning into dance parties, with fans performing Jackson’s routines at the same time as lead star Jaafar Jackson, the singer’s very own nephew, in front of the screen.
This has prompted widespread debate, with the majority of viewers accusing the “annoying” moonwalking individuals of ruining their filmgoing experience. They’ve accused the people of having “main character syndrome”, complaining that they have paid to watch a film, not attend a concert.
Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar plays singer in hit biopic (Universal Pictures)
“There’s a difference between enjoying the moment and disrupting everyone else’s experience,” one viewer wrote on social media. “Not everyone paid to watch a live performance.”
Another told the excitable fans to “save the moonwalk for outside”, with many linking it to a rise in poor audience etiquette in which people use their phones and talk loudly while watching the film. “It’s part of the reason I’m avoiding screenings right now,” one person stated on X/Twitter.
Many said they would ask for refunds if they were in attendance when a similar thing happened.
However, some have praised the electric, convivial atmosphere caused by the dancing fans who “took over” the cinema, comparing it to repertory screenings of 1975 cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
“People were dancing at the front of the screen like it was a live concert. This wasn’t a movie… this was a full-blown MJ revival,” one viewer said, with another calling it “one of the best moviegoing experiences I’ve had in my life”.
‘Michael’ screenings are becoming dance parties – much to the annoyance of cinemagoers (Universal Pictures)
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“The audience was fully locked in from start to finish (dancing/fully enjoying themselves). It was magical,” they wrote.
A similar debate raged last year following the release of The Minecraft Movie. One moment in the film saw Jack Black and Jason Momoa’s characters confronted in a boxing ring by a cuboid Minecraft chicken, who is ridden around the ring by another character.
“Chicken jockey!” exclaims Black’s character, a reference to the video game that seems to be sending audiences wild.
Footage captured across social media showed food and popcorn being thrown across the audience when this moment occurred, along with loud shouting, swearing and people jumping out of their seats. Young people could be seen laughing with their phones out as they captured the disorder, which became a popular TikTok trend.
Special screenings encouraging the raucous behaviour were ultimately organised in order to lure people away from screenings filled with people who wanted to watch the film in peace.