Michael Jackson’s This Is It grossed $20.1 million worldwide in its first official day in theaters, raking in $7.4 million in domestic box office and a remarkable $12.7 million overseas. This Is It’s haul comes up short when compared Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which grossed $8.6 million its first day in theaters on its way to the current highest-grossing debut week for a concert film, Variety reports. However, Hannah debuted on a Friday, while This Is It’s official premiere came on an October Wednesday during the World Series, so by early estimates Jackson should be King of the box office this weekend.
Look back at Jackson’s life and career, in photos.
It was previously reported that a This Is It DVD would be released prior to Christmas, but due to a regulation that usually forces studios to wait a minimum 90 days before releasing a new film to DVD, This Is It has been pushed to a late January or early February DVD release, the Los Angeles Times reports. Because the film will only have a two-week theatrical run, Sony executives argued that a This Is It DVD should circumvent the agreement between theater owners and movie studios, but the theater chains relented. According to the LAT, This Is It will be shown on 6,000 screens in 3,481 theaters these next two weeks, so Sony opted to push the DVD release date to 2010, but will miss out on the Christmas profits.
In one last piece of This Is It news, the AP reports that Sony will submit the documentary for Academy Award consideration in categories ranging from film editing and sound to Best Picture and Best Director. Unfortunately, the most noteworthy category in which This Is It had the best chances of competing, the Best Documentary Oscar, already passed its deadline, making Jackson’s rehearsal footage film ineligible. The Elizabeth Taylor-...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily