“This Is It” Box Office Tops $200 Million Worldwide

Sony Pictures says Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” has passed the $200 million mark at the box office worldwide.

The film has pulled in $61 million domestically and more than $140 million overseas. That includes $27.2 million in Japan, $14.3 million in Great Britain and $12.1 million in Germany.

Sony Pictures marketing and distribution boss Jeff Blake says the film is drawing repeat business worldwide from Jackson fans.

“This Is It” captures Jackson’s final performances as he rehearsed for his aborted concert tour. The movie includes Jackson doing such hits as “Beat It,” ”Thriller,” ”Human Nature” and “Billie Jean.”

Jackson died in June just weeks before his marathon of 50 concerts was to begin in London.

Janet Jackson ABC Special Nov. 18

Move over, witches of Eastwick! We hear a Janet Jackson TV special will replace the ABC series on Nov. 18.

Janet Jackson is expected to open up with ABC anchor Robin Roberts in an exclusive primetime ABC special event.

Slated to air November 18 on the network, sources say Jackson could talk everything from the death of her brother, Michael Jackson, to recent changes in her career.

While the interview itself has not been conducted as of press time, sources close to ABC say an official announcement will be made later this week.

The pop/R&B icon will also debut her second greatest hits compilation, The Essential Janet Jackson, later this month.

The greatest-hits collection, called “Number Ones,” includes 33 classic Jackson hits and her newest song, “Make Me.” The two-disc album will be released Nov. 17.

“Number Ones” spans the pop star’s career, from her 1986 debut, “Control,” to last year’s “Discipline.” Jackson’s last greatest hits album was released in 1995.

The 43-year-old singer is working on an autobiography and a new studio album set for release next year.

“This Is It” Wins Weekend Box Office

Halloween audiences picked beats over blood this weekend, pushing “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” to the top spot, while horror phenomenon “Paranormal Activity” scored a strong second-place finish.

With a $21.3 million domestic gross, “This Is It” raised its worldwide total to a massive $101 million that easily breaks the record for a concert doc, though it falls far short of the $250 million that concert promoter AEG reportedly predicted.

Even so, the performance was good enough to convince distributor Sony (which acquired the pic for a mere $60 million) to announce that the concert pic will remain in theaters at least until Thanksgiving.

“This Is It” Breaks Records

The Man still had “it.” The highly anticipated Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It has already set a record!

The Sony film grossed an estimated $2.2 million at the North American box office during Tuesday night’s limited theater release, Variety reports. This is a record for a Tuesday October release.

On Wednesday, This Is It opened in 3,500 theaters and IMAX screens nationwide, in addition to thousands more overseas.

Stars Came Out For The “This Is It” Premiere In Los Angeles

Los Angeles came to a standstill last night as Hollywood A-listers joined the Jackson brothers for the premiere of the King of Pop’s concert rehearsal movie This Is It.

The L.A. launch of the tour documentary – featuring Michael Jackson’s final stage performances before his death in June – coincided with the worldwide release of the film, which premiered across 15 cities including London; Seoul, South Korea; Johannesburg, South Africa; Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; and Berlin, Germany.

The superstar’s brothers Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon walked the red carpet alongside Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry and Paris Hilton. Jermaine Jackson promised fans they’d be blown away – but urged people to remember the footage was shot during rehearsals and not a full-blown performance.

He explained, “You are going to see preparations for what would have been one of the greatest shows ever. You are going to see him going through the motions, not giving 100 percent.”

Jackson’s mother Katherine and his three children were believed to have watched a private showing of the film at a screening at Sony Studios on the same night.

Mixed signals for Michael Jackson album sales

The new Michael Jackson record “This Is It” hits stores around the world on Monday, kicking off a week of money-spinning events dedicated to the “king of pop,” but the outlook for the two-disc album is decidedly mixed.

Experts predict that it will top charts in several key countries, most notably the biggest U.S. market, but with album sales in seemingly terminal decline, even relatively modest returns can secure the coveted number one slot.

The fact that fans have bought nearly six million Jackson albums in that country alone since the singer died suddenly in June of a prescription drug overdose is likely to temper demand for what is essentially another greatest hits collection.

Much depends on whether millions of people expected to flock to the accompanying “This Is It” movie, which hits theatres on Wednesday, feel moved to buy the record too, experts said.

“It’s very hard to pinpoint what it will do, particularly due to the fact that a lot of these songs have already sold well this year,” said Silvio Pietroluongo, director of charts at Billboard magazine which compiles the weekly rankings.

“Talking to the labels and industry insiders there is a huge sweep of opinion of anywhere between 200-300,000 and 500,000 albums sold in the first week,” he told Reuters.

Pietroluongo predicted that should be enough to guarantee Jackson another Billboard number one in the United States.

Michael Jackson “Dancing With The Stars” Tribute (VIDEO)

Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine and siblings La Toya and Jermaine were among the members of The Jackson Family who appeared on Tuesday night’s Dancing With The Stars Results Show for a special tribute to the King of Pop, featuring classic tunes like “Thriller” and “Man In The Mirror.”

La Toya, who introduced the routine, said her late brother had told her that when he danced, “he felt like he’d been touched by something sacred. … As a fan of all types of dancing, he would be most proud that these talented [pros] share his enthusiasm for the dance.”

Watch the tribute below! RIP Michael Jackson!

The Beatles and Michael Jackson Help The Music Biz

Renewed interest in the Beatles and Michael Jackson slowed the decline of U.S. album sales in the third quarter, although the industry is still on track to fall for the eighth time in nine years.

Sales were off 11.1% compared with the same period in 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan. After the second quarter, sales were down 14.7% compared with the first half of 2008.

So far album sales are down 13.9% this year. Total album sales fell 14 percent in 2008.

Music retailers are hoping that the continued performance of Jackson and Beatles albums and a strong fourth-quarter release schedule will continue to make up lost ground.

During the quarter, Jackson’s June 25 death fueled sales of about 5 million units, and the September 9 re-release of the Beatles catalog has sold 1.3 million units so far.

So far this year 11 albums have topped the 1 million-unit mark, the same number as in 2008. In 2008, the top seller was Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III,” at 2.5 million units; this year’s top seller is Jackson’s “Number Ones,” at 1.8 million units.

Autopsy Shocker: Michael Jackson Was Healthy

An autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press shows Michael Jackson was not the sickly skeleton of a man portrayed by tabloids.

The report says Jackson’s arms were covered with punctures, his face and neck were scarred and he had tattooed eyebrows and lips. But overall he was a fairly healthy 50-year-old.

Jackson’s 136 pounds were in the acceptable range for a 5-foot-9 man. And his heart was strong. He had some arthritis and his lungs were damaged, which may have left him short of breath.

But the report said none of those health issues were life-threatening and that the pop star died from the potent anesthetic his personal physician gave him to sleep.

SO what happened?!!

Michael Jackson Sneak Peek Screenings Sell Out In 2 hours

Michael Jackson is still playing to sellout crowds.

Advance screenings to the music documentary “Michael Jackson: This Is It” sold out within two hours early Sunday as fans who began lining up three days earlier snapped up all 3,000 tickets to the Los Angeles shows.

The documentary opens nationwide Oct. 28, but fans will get a sneak peek the night before in screenings at the new Regal Cinemas Stadium 14. For the theater’s grand opening, the cinema will show “This Is It” on all 14 screens that night.

Directed by longtime Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega, “This Is It” draws on hundreds of hours of footage as Jackson prepared for a series of London concerts for which he was rehearsing before his death on June 25.

People are obviously excited, can’t wait to see what people thought of it.

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