Jackson Documentary Tops Box Office

Sony’s documentary on what was to be the late Michael Jackson’s comeback concert in London, both titled This Is It, moonwalked its way right to the top of this weekend’s box office. Earning an estimated $21.3 million domestically over the Halloween weekend, the film, directed by High School Musical’s Kenny Ortega, actually accumulated $32.5 million, thanks to its early opening on Wednesday at midnight. It was, however, expected to garner $40 million-plus during its extended five-day debut in theaters. Nevertheless, the worldwide box-office numbers of $101 million have prompted Sony to lengthen what was initially supposed to be a two-week-only release. This Is It will be available for an additional three weeks domestically and one to three weeks internationally. “It definitely played well here, but we knocked it out of the park worldwide,” said Sony distribution president Rory Bruer of the King of Pop’s final work. “The film really does give you a rare opportunity to see his genius at work."