Golden Globes Shift ‘Michael’ Biopic From Musical/Comedy to Drama Categories for 2027 Awards

The Golden Globes’ awards committee has denied Lionsgate’s bid to have its megahit Michael Jackson biopic Michael compete as a musical or comedy at the 2027 ceremony.

Gold Derby first reported the news.

Though the Globes generally adhere to a studio’s preference in these matters, the committee felt that the film didn’t meet the rule stipulating that “a musical can be a comedy or a drama in which songs are used in addition to spoken dialogue to further the plot.” The members felt that the musical performances in Michael did not sufficiently drive the narrative.

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31 submission deadline, though sources say an appeal is unlikely.

The Globes’ decision means the film, which stars Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson as the King of Pop, will compete for nominations in the best motion picture drama category with such films as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Three .

This classification could hurt Jaafar Jackson’s chances of landing a best actor nomination for his first film role.

The lead actor and actress categories at the Globes are separated by genre; the drama categories are seen as more competitive than the musical or comedy categories.

The Globes don’t separate supporting actor and actress performances by genre, so this doesn’t affect nomination chances for Colman Domingo and Nia Long, who played the pop star’s parents.

Musical biopics have long proven to be hard to classify at the Globes.

Ray , Taylor Hackford’s biopic of Ray Charles , was nominated for best motion picture, musical or comedy in 2004.

Walk the Line , James Mangold’s biopic of Johnny Cash , won in that category the following year.

Most subsequent biopics have competed as dramas.

Bohemian Rhapsody , Bryan Singer’s Freddie Mercury biopic, won best motion picture drama in 2018.