LOS ANGELES, California, United StatesCashing in on the outpouring of affection for the US pop icon after his death earlier this year, Michael Jacksons This Is It pulled in $101 million worldwide in its first five days.
The much-hyped film, composed mostly of rehearsal footage recorded in the weeks before the King of Pops death in June, was the No. 1 Halloween thriller domestically with a $21.3-million opening weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Hes just loved everywhere on the planet, said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. It doesnt matter if its Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, South America. Every continent in the world loved him and his music.
This Is It raised its domestic total to $32.5 million. The movie pulled in $68.5 million overseas, including $10.4 million in Japan, $6.3 million in Germany, $5.8 million in France, and $3.2 million in China.
In Great Britain, where Jackson had planned a marathon series of 50 London concerts starting July, the movie earned $7.6 million.
This Is It captures Jackson in behind-the-scenes performances as he rehearsed his biggest hits for the London shows.
This Is It originally was scheduled for a theatrical run of only two weeks.
The studio has extended it a few more weeks domestically, leaving it in theaters through Thanksgiving weekend, one of the years busiest moviegoing times.
$60-M gamble
Sony plans to extend the run of This Is It overseas on a country-by-country basis, with most territories probably getting one to three weeks of extra playing time, Bruer said.
The studio paid $60 million for film rights to Jacksons rehearsal footage, an investment the movie recouped in days.
They bet $60 million on this and got $101 million in just five days, said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. It was a gamble and a bet that paid off.
Sony hopes for a longer shelf life for This Is It, which drew older crowds that catch movies on their own schedule, with less regard for the opening-weekend frenzy.
Older fans
Fans older than 25 accounted for 62 percent of the audience, according to Sony.
The Halloween weekend crowds preferred the last moments of the moon-walking master of the spooky musical hit Thriller to scary movie Paranormal Activity, which took a second spot with $16.5 million.
Law Abiding Citizen, a thriller about a man bent on avenging the deaths of his slain family, moved up to the No. 3 spot with $7.3 million.
It was trailed by a former No. 1 Couples Retreat, starring comic favorites Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman, now in fourth place with $6.09 million.
The latest in the Saw films series, Saw VI, was in fifth place with $5.6 million, trailed by Where the Wild Things Are, director Spike Jonzes live-action rendering of the beloved childrens book of the same name, with $5.1 million.
