November 03, 2009

'Michael Jackson's This Is It' Banks $100 Million Around The Globe

By Gil Kaufman (MTV.com)

As expected, Michael Jackson's This Is It was the box-office champion over the Halloween weekend, taking in an estimated $21.3 million in the United States. The bigger news was that the documentary chronicling the King of Pop's final rehearsals for his planned 50-show comeback residency in London banked more than $101 million worldwide.

The totals easily made This Is It the #1 movie in America, beating out the still-strong thriller Paranormal Activity, which was second with $16.5 million. Fans who didn't wait in line or rush out to see This Is It during its first few days in theaters also got a reprieve, as Sony Pictures - the studio that paid $60 million for the rights to release the film - announced that the planned two-week-only engagement will now be extended through Thanksgiving.

According to The Associated Press, This Is It had a strong debut all across the globe, taking in $10.4 million in Japan, $6.3 million in Germany, $7.6 million in Great Britain, $5.8 million in France and $3.2 million in China.

Experts predicted that This Is It has a very good shot at surpassing the $65.3 million take of last year's Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, which currently holds the all-time record for music documentaries.