Michael Jackson Flick Gets Extended Stay
Michael Jackson’s concert film This Is It grabbed the top spot at the box office pulling in an estimated $21.3 million dollars over the weekend. The concert practice footage film opened last Wednesday and pulled in a five day total of $32.5 million for the domestic release numbers. But, it’s doing better on the world stage as worldwide This Is It has banked approximately $101 million dollars.
Even though the $21 million weekend box office total is actually rather small, Sony has decided to extend it’s appearance on the big screen. Originally plans were for just a two week run. But, Sony has announced This Is It will stay on the big screen through the Thanksgiving weekend.
I must admit I find the Michael Jackson hype very fascinating…
What Makes A Box Office Hit?
Many people applaud a flick when it tops the box office. Such is the case with the Michael Jackson movie. But, lets remember a couple things here. First off, nothing else new opened this past weekend. In other words, the only new movie offering for film fans was the Michael Jackson flick. Lets not forget the Vince Vaughn Couples Retreat trick. The distributor of that terrible movie did the same thing. Everyone applauded Vaughn for his genius when it hit the number one spot. But, it opened alone, and fell from grace like a rock!
Secondly, is $21 million really a lot of money? NO! As a matter of fact, Tyler Perry’s latest box office flop I Can Do Bad All By Myself from a couple months ago actually made more money on its debut weekend. In September that Perry flick pulled in approximately $24 million for a first weekend run.
In other words…maybe the King of Pop really isn’t the King of the Box Office after all.
It will be very interesting to see what happens with Jackson’s This Is It this weekend when it has some real competition on the big screen. Not only is the new Cameron Diaz horror/thriller The Box opening this weekend, but Jim Carrey also hits the big screen this weekend too. The much anticipated new adaptation of The Christmas Carol opens on more than 3,500 screens this weekend.
Michael Jackson could quickly disappear from the big screen scene this weekend.
Weekend Box Office Result Estimates
- Michael Jackson’s This Is It – $21.3 million
- Paranormal Activity – $16.5 million
- Law Abiding Citizen – $7.3 million
- Couples Retreat – $6.1 million
- Saw VI – $5.6 million
- Where The Wild Things Are – $5.1 million
- The Stepfather – $3.4 million
- Astro Boy – $3.04 million
- Amelia – $3 million
- Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant – $2.8 million
Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus
Dr. Rus has 30+ years experience in the field of communication. He takes this experience, and his passion to encourage others to positively effect their environment, when providing insight and movie reviews. 
