It’s all how you spin it, right?
Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” made $20 million worldwide opening on a Wednesday in October on the first night of the World Series. This is considered a tremendous success, not a disappointment. How it got labeled the latter is beyond me.
If “This Is It” makes $70 million domestically through Sunday night, believe me, Sony and AEG and Michael Jackson’s estate will be very happy. There’s no reason to think it won’t. The film has an across-the-board Cinemascope rating of A. Most of the reviews, except for one crazy one, are positive. THR’s Kirk Honeycutt lavished praise on it, and he’s tough, kids. If he likes it, you know it’s good.
A few days ago, one movie blog decided that “This Is It” should make $250 million in its first weekend. This is the usual craziness of bad or no reporting. If the movie makes just that domestically, and another $150 million abroad before its scheduled Jan. 20 DVD release, all parties will celebrate.
By the way, all the worldwide numbers aren’t in. The film opened in 10 more countries today. On Friday, record producer L.A. Reid is hosting a private A-list screening. There will be more of those.
As for the naysayers who claim that it doesn’t tell the whole Jackson story, this is what I say: You’re right. This is a behind-the-scenes look at performance. The rest of it — and there’s plenty — will be explored in detail later.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I can’t wait to see this movie! It’s doing incredibly well at the box office, has all the celebrities talking/tweeting about it, and is getting some stellar reviews from the critics on Movie Review Intelligence.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Since there were over 100 hours of footage, do you think there could be a sequel? I know it sounds silly, but what do u think?
October 29th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
This is a documentary, and it cant be compared with the blockbusters ala Matrix, Transformers, Harry Potter…
TII was/is for fans and then for all the people who are interested in the documentary because of the rumours about Michaels health, and of course, because of the media hype before premiere.
The fact is that Miley Cyrus is now Big in the US, so TII did not overcome her concert movie in its first day. But she is just and only an Americas sweetheart, Michael is the real ICON – GLOBAL ICON, and the worlds TII hype was so huge…, but not with the planned results…
Anyway, its not important if the opening day was success or failed…, after the two week run we can assess the This Is It farewell …
October 29th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Of course its a success. There always have to be a naysayer in the bunch.
As far as the “rest of the story”, unless it is coming directly from the mouth of the person who said it and they are saying it on camera, I will just file it in the garbage bin of tabloid gossip, folks still trying to make a dollar off of Michael.
If he “rest of the story” involve justice for his untimely death, I’m all ears.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
saw the movie last night after every number the moviegoers were clapping & yelling go michael. great film love it
October 29th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I think the movie will pick up over the weekend. $7.4 million is very good for the first day! It should do another $4 million Thursday, $20 million Friday, $12 million Saturday, and $8 million Sunday. That will take it’s first 5 days to just over $50 million in North America. Global sales by this point will be north of $100 million. If Sony extends this another week or two, This Is It will beat Miley Cyrus’ film and become the biggest music documentary of all time in the US. It’s already going to hold that title globally regardless (It only has to beat $70 million).
Here are my final predictions for US Gross: $65 million (2 week release), $90 million (4 week release). Global Gross: $180 million (2 week release), $230 million (4 week release)
October 30th, 2009 at 12:21 am
I fink I,am the only one,ho do noth love it.
October 30th, 2009 at 12:38 am
Hey Mr. Friedman, I just wanted to say I always enjoyed reading your column (via FOX) during Jackson’s trial back in the day. It was like the other part of my morning coffee when I got into the office. I never really cared about Jackson before then, and always felt sorry for him afterwards. It was really sad when he died, it really messed with my girlfriend. After he passed, I knew your reporting would be the best, and so found this site (and pointed my girlfriend your way for good info) and have been reading it since.
Anyways, we just went and saw the movie. It was well done, my only disappointment was you never see Jackson moonwalk (even on the Billy Jean dance number, strange). Also, I think its the keyboardist who tells Jackson the bars need “more booty,” not the other way around. Jackson sure is in his element on a stage; totally in control, confident, and aware…hadn’t lost a step or a note either.
We were the only ones in the whole theater. Granted, it was the 10:30 show on Thursday in a snowstorm in Nampa, Idaho…that probably explains a lot of that. But I was surprised no one else was there. The marketing is a little over the top too, with “backstage passes” and a flyer for a very expensive Jackson book provided with the tickets.
Based on what I saw, those London concerts would’ve been one hell of a show. I think its where the similarities between the deaths of Presley and Jackson diverge. Despite his impending concerts, Elvis really was past his prime and washed up. Jackson still had the mojo, and his efforts with this concert were for real, in a way that makes Jackson’s demise more regrettable.
October 30th, 2009 at 2:57 am
Sony is now considering entering TII into the Oscar race. If they do and it receives nominations, then, I think it is easy to assume that this will probably be THEE MOST WATCHED Oscar telecast in the history of the show.
October 30th, 2009 at 3:03 am
I don’t love it either. Michael looked fatigued and I don’t like to remember him this way. He was not the Michael of old, and I don’t think this film did him any favours. The uninitiated who think this is genius have obviously never seen any of his previous work.
October 30th, 2009 at 4:49 am
I agree this is not a good last (or first) impression of Michael. He was more energtic than some reviews say, but he was not the one we know – due to him being sick and to it being only rehearsal. He would have been different during the actual concerts, but he never got that far.
I urge everyone to go home after the movie and hit youtube for an hour, watching all the old great ones like Dangerous, Stranger in Moscow, Beat it, Black or White, Earth song etc.
October 30th, 2009 at 5:56 am
I never saw Michael in concert and after seeing the movie last night, now I am sorry I did not. It is very sad such talent is gone, but at the same, I am terribly relieved for him.
October 30th, 2009 at 10:53 am
It’s a good film and certainly worth seeing. But Best Picture? That’s a real stretch.
I’ve seen MJ in concert twice and he was electrifying. I was disappointed that aside from the 3D films, there wasn’t much that was new and creative. Several scenes from the London show were virtual reproductions of his 1988 tour.
Strangely, some of the “new” choreography (the male dancers folded arm shuffles, the playground fence acrobatics) copied what we saw at Madonna’s Confession tour several years ago (watch her perform Jump and Ray of Light on the DVD and you’ll see what I mean).
Of course, the reason to see TII is to watch MJ perform live after such a long absence. His glorious talent was intact. Clearly, he would have gotten better over time and perhaps the show would have been revised and improved.
But, TII can only hint at what might have been. It’s good entertainment but it’s also sad and frustrating at the same time.
October 30th, 2009 at 11:28 am
I went home after the movie and I watched Michael in an interview from 30 years ago where he talked intimately about entertaining his fans and now 30 years later he had that same passion, humility and love that the media refused to let shine during Michael’s life.
Watch these, he stayed true to himself and in his passionate beliefs, such as nature, children and his fans, for all these years.
He is so inspiring. I love him so much.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZnrxk-dpVA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg2ILcrqyQA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5F1es_ckoYY
October 30th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Jesus… this is a rehearsal in an empty arena… it’s only natural that he will be less energetic than during the actual concerts with 20.000 screaming fans! Apart from the fact that he is just 12 years older since his last tour and has to adapt to being 12 years older! Other than that his performances in the movie are great! No signs of being sick!
October 31st, 2009 at 7:38 am
I would have liked to have been able to see Michael Jackson at least perform a song straight through, and not have had to settle for nearly every song being composed of an edited mix from two or three or more rehearsals. Surely Mr Jackson made it through at least one song in its entirety during one rehearsal.
As it is, I am unsure if he was really singing all the time. The quality of his voice in this film varies. Sure, there is, at times, the Voice of Michael Jackson we have all heard and love (and miss very much), most clearly at the end of Man In The Mirror (which is all we get to hear of that song) and on Earth Song. But alongside of that Voice was a new Voice making its debut here, a strange and nasal Voice, lower in range, unnatural, unfamiliar, a Voice like Michael Jackson with a bad cold.
Michael Jackson’s own energy levels seem very, very low. He moves like an elderly man, his thin legs shuffling like the 70 year old James Brown, even like Walter Brennan at times. He seems to try to lean forward on his toes during Smooth Criminal and rocks back immediately. I hope this was a conservation of energy and not what people would have been seeing in London. All in all, a ghoulish yet mediocre disappointment. Michael Jackson would never have allowed this footage to be released to the public. He was a perfectionist, and “This Is It” is not perfect, not even close.
October 31st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
I will be seeing the film tomorrow (Sunday). It has been interesting to read the many reviews of it. I am looking forward to it, and what I am expecting is to see Michael creating and developing his show. I do not expect to see polished, perfect performances. These are rehearsals, not finished products. I think that if Michael looks or sounds tired, it would be natural, considering that he hadn’t toured in so many years, and that he was getting back into it. This is the compilation of months of footage, so I assume that as time went on his energy level would increase, and the performances would be perfected. We have to understand too, that this was a man of 50, who had endured a lot physically, mentally, and emotionally over the years. If he had lived and done the London concerts, though he would have been great, he may never have attained the form he had when he was 30.
I agree that he probably would not have wanted the public to see his less than perfect rehearsals; but on the other hand, somehow I think that from where he is now, he does not mind this final “farewell” to us.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:14 am
Loonesta – very well said. The audio had been really REALLY cleaned up and amped up a lot. And Michael would not want anyone to see him less than perfect. This is just another moneymaking scheme by AEG and Sony.
I had to watch the whole Bad concert and Youtube for several days to clear my head of the horrible images of him so thin and sickly. Wish I’d never seen it.
November 1st, 2009 at 10:55 am
I was depressed by the film too – then, I had a cold. (Others seem to have loved it.) But I don’t agree that he shuffled along the stage. He looked skinny and of course much older than he once did, but he was often energetic in the film. There is no way to know whether he sometimes stopped a move because he didn’t feel up to it or because he was only marking. It’s more than likely he only marked those he felt certain of. Had he only weighed twenty pounds more, he wouldn’t have looked that old or given the impression he couldn’t move right. He still had it, and even being depressed I was often amazed both by his voice and his dance.
But even so, I’m convinced he would not have wanted this released. The concerts would have been a completely different matter, because when you are on stage, the energy of the audience lifts you up, revitalizes you.