Michael Jackson's This Is It

Not to be confused with This Is It (Michael Jackson concerts), Michael Jackson's This Is It (album), or This Is It (Michael Jackson song).

Michael Jackson's This Is It
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Kenny Ortega
Produced by	Michael Jackson Randy Phillips Kenny Ortega Paul Gongaware
Starring	Michael Jackson
Music by	Michael Jackson
Cinematography	Sandrine Orabona Tim Patterson[1]
Studio	AEG Live[2] The Michael Jackson Company, LLC
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	October 28, 2009 (2009-10-28)[3]
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$60 million
Box office	$261,183,588[4]

Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American documentary–concert film directed by Kenny Ortega that documents Michael Jackson's rehearsals and preparation for the concert series of the same name scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled due to his death eighteen days prior on June 25. It is the last film Jackson starred in. The film is now the highest grossing concert movie and documentary in the history of cinema.^[5] The film consists of Jackson rehearsing musical numbers and directing his team, and additional behind the scenes footage including dancer auditions and costume design. The film's director Kenny Ortega confirmed that none of this footage was originally intended for release, but after Jackson's death it was agreed that the film be made. The footage was filmed at the Staples Center and The Forum in California.

Despite originally being set for October 30, the film's release date was rescheduled for October 28, 2009, due to a strong demand by Jackson's fans. The film was given a worldwide release and a limited two-week theatrical run from October 28, to November 12, 2009, but theatrical release was later extended. Tickets went on sale a month early on September 27, to satisfy a high anticipated demand; to date, the film has broken numerous records via tickets both pre-sale and sales worldwide.

Since the film's confirmation, AEG Live has faced criticism; mostly consisting of claims that they had only made the film to make a profit. Multiple members of Jackson's family had confirmed that they did not support the film and some family members went as far as to try to stop the film agreement in August. The film has also been surrounded by allegations regarding the appearance of body doubles in place of Jackson; which Sony denied, and an outrage from some of Jackson fans; with some going as far as to start a protest against the film. In August 2009, a judge approved a deal between Jackson's estate, concert promoter AEG Live, and Sony Pictures. The agreement allowed Sony to edit the hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage needed to create the film. Sony subsequently paid $50 million for the film rights.^[6]

The film was released to mainly positive reviews from both critics and Jackson fans; the film's portrayal of Jackson and his performances were generally praised, while criticism mainly consisted of both critics and fans having felt that the film was made just to profit off Jackson's death and that Jackson wouldn't have wanted the film released because he was a "perfectionist".

Despite some fans boycotting the film, and his family not endorsing the movie, This Is It ticket sales broke international records a month before its release. It has broken advance ticket sales records for a movie. Among the cities with the strongest sales are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and New York. Records were also set in Japan, where more than $1 million in tickets were sold on the first day they were available. In London, fans bought more than 30,000 tickets on the first day. Record sales were also reported in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand.^[7]

In the first opening weekend it grossed $101 million worldwide. The movie sold $32.5 million over its first five days in the U.S. and Canada, and $68.5 million in 97 other countries - making the number one film at the box office^[8] and making it the fifth highest-grossing Halloween debut. On its theatrical run, the film's worldwide revenue gross was in total $261 million, making it the highest grossing documentary/concert movie of all time.^[4]

Concept

The film begins with a short text introduction stating the purpose of the footage and its intent "For the fans...". After short dialogues from various dancers, Kenny Ortega is heard talking through the original concert opening sequence involving a body suit made from screens that display fast clips and images with bright intensity from which Jackson emerges on stage. Immediately after this, Jackson begins "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" first solo, which pauses half-way through and a small snippet of Jackson singing his song "Speechless" acapella is shown. After that, a scene shows Jackson arriving at the O2 Arena in front of his fans stating that the This Is It tour will be his final tour of his career and he will be performing the songs his fans want to hear. Jackson is then joined by dancers and completes the first number. A short clip showing rehearsals of the "toaster" mechanism is shown before rehearsal footage of "Jam" is played. This plays directly into the green screen adaptation of soldiers dancers for "Bad", which are also used for "They Don't Care About Us", which is shown next. From here, the film shows Michael directing Ortega and his band for his solo rehearsal performance of "Human Nature", which he performs acapella, then acoustic and finally with the full band. Green screen rehearsals for the video vignette for "Smooth Criminal" come next (with scenes from his film Moonwalker as well as the film Gilda like the one where Rita Hayworth sings "Put the Blame on Mame"), with dress rehearsals of the song following, including parts of the vignette intertwined with the dancing. Jackson is seen next directing his musical team for the cues in his song "The Way You Make Me Feel". Jackson then performs a rehearsal with dancers, which he alters and changes as he goes. Jackson then rehearses The Jackson 5 songs: "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There" and "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)". After this, Jackson sings with Judith Hill, one of his back up singers, on his duet song "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" in which he sings at full strength, directing his partner as he goes. The filming for the "Thriller" vignette is then shown with Jackson and Ortega watching with 3D glasses. Jackson is then seen rehearsing "Thriller" with the vignette intertwined like that in "Smooth Criminal". Footage of the show's aerialists rehearsing to the instrumental of "Who Is It" is shown next.

During the dance sequence, puppets are suspended in the audience aisles while Jackson emerges from a robotic spider originally seen in the vignette. Jackson and Ortega rehearsing the cherry-picker is seen next, along with Jackson rehearsing "Beat It". Footage of Jackson and the band rehearsing "Black or White" is shown next, in which he instructs his band to skip the second verse and later allows his guitarist Orianthi Panagaris to take center stage to finish with a high guitar riff. The video-sequence for "Earth Song" is shown next, featuring a little girl (Jasmine Alveran) who wanders through a forest, falls asleep, and wakes up to find the forest destroyed by a man in a bulldozer. Jackson then performs the song, with his voice being heard at the end telling of the dangers of Global Warming and the lack of reversible time left. He then performs a quick version of his song "Billie Jean". Michael is then seen talking to all crew members and wishing everyone the best for the London performances. At a sound check, Michael performs "Man in the Mirror" with strong backing vocals. The credits are shown next, with a montage of rehearsal clips and "This Is It" being played in the background. After the show, a live recording of "Heal the World" was played. Then, the audio of "Human Nature" was played, with a clip of Michael rehearsing it on his last day. Then, a clip of what could have been a Dome Project video of "Heal the World" was shown, in which the same girl (Jasmine Alveran) that appeared in the "Earth Song" video was shown holding the world and a signed message, by Michael, saying "I Love You".

Background

See also: This Is It (Michael Jackson concerts)

The interior of The O2 Arena, where the concerts were set to have been held. Jackson was to perform from July 2009 to March 2010 - which would have been the longest residency at the arena.^[9]

On March 5, 2009 at the O2 Arena, Jackson announced that he was to perform 10 concerts as part of a comeback.^[10][11] Jackson suggested possible post-show retirement: "I just wanted to say that these will be my final show performances in London. When I say this is it, it really means this is it,"^[12] although he may have just been referring to performing in London. On March 11, two days before pre-sale began, an extra 40 dates were added to meet high demand, bringing the number of shows to 50 — five of these dates were reserved in their entirety for the public sale.^[13] Jackson's 50 dates would make the concerts the longest residency at the arena. In May, 2009, the tour was originally set to have begun on July 8, 2009, and finished on March 6, 2010.^[14] On May 20, 2009, it was announced that the first concert would be pushed back by eight days to July 16, and three other July dates would be rescheduled for March, 2010. AEG Live stated that the delay was necessary because more time was needed to prepare, mainly for dress rehearsals. The revised schedule called for 27 shows between July 16, and September 29, 2009, followed by a three month break, and resuming in 2010, with 23 more shows between January 7, and March 6, 2010.^[14] The This Is It concert tour would have been Jackson's first major performances and series of concerts since the HIStory World Tour that began in 1996 and finished in 1997. In preparation for the concerts, Jackson had been collaborating with multiple well known and high profile figures, such as Kenny Ortega, who would have served as his choreographer.^[15] On June 29, 2009, only days after Jackson's death, AEG Live, the concert's promoter, offered ticket holders two choices - to either get refunded all the money spent of their ticket(s) or to keep the ticket(s) as a souvenir and memento by receiving the printed ticket that Jackson had designed himself.^[16]

Music

Main article: Michael Jackson's This Is It (album)

The album, titled This Is It was released internationally on October 26, and worldwide the following day. The album debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with the sales of over 373,000 in its first week of release.^[17] The two-disc album features music 'that inspired the movie'.^[18] Sony said of the albums that: "Disc one will feature the original album masters of some of Michael's biggest hits arranged in the same sequence as they appear in the film" and stated that "the disc ends with two versions of the 'never-released' "This Is It". This song is featured in the film's closing sequence and includes backing vocals by Michael Jackson's brothers, The Jacksons."^[19] Sony also stated that the second disc will feature "previously unreleased versions" from Jackson's 'catalogue of hits' and that It will also include a spoken word poem entitled "Planet Earth" (which originally appeared in the liner notes of the Dangerous (1991) album) and a 36-page commemorative booklet with "photos of Michael [Jackson] from his last rehearsal".^[20]

Production

The film's director and choreographer; Ortega stated that the rehearsal footage and concept of making a film to document the preparation of the concerts had come about as "an accident".^[21][22] Ortega stated the film was pieced together from "private footage" shot by documentarians Sandrine Orabona and Tim Patterson of Jackson and the concerts crew rehearsing and that before Jackson's death, was never intended to be released to the public, or even in general.^[22] "The recordings were made so we could use them, then the tapes were destined for Michael [Jackson]'s private library. They have a real unguarded honesty to them."^[22] Ortega stated that he had gotten the idea to use the rehearsal footage from Jackson's fans after his death: "At first I got so many messages from fans around the world asking to see the shows, asking to see the footage and eventually I realized the journey wasn't over and we had to do this", and Ortega also stated that the film was made only for the Jackson fans: "[The film] is for the fans and the film will show the development and intentions of the show, and the concert as it moved closer to London."^[22]

On August 10, a Superior Court Judge officially approved the deal between Columbia Pictures (film distributor) and AEG Live (the concerts promoter) for Columbia to be able to purchase and distribute rehearsal footage of Jackson and the rehearsal crew for the film.^[23][24] The deal also included a merchandising agreement with Bravado International Group - the company is a division of Universal Music Group that is owned by Vivendi - so that they can distribute and sell "Jackson-themed products".^[25] Columbia had reportedly paid $60 million (£35 million) for rights to the rehearsal footage in court documents that were filed.^[26] The papers filed had also reportedly stated that Jackson's estate will get 90% of the profits and that AEG will get the remaining 10% from the film's revenue. In the agreement, Columbia and AEG Live both agreed in the deal that the final version of the film should be no longer than 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes), and that the film must attain a PG rating.^[25] The contract also stated that the film is not allowed to show footage of Jackson that shows him in a negative way, stating that: "Footage that paints Jackson in a bad light will not be permitted and "Under the terms of the proposed contract, the film will have to be screened for Jackson's estate and cannot include any footage that puts the superstar in a bad light."^[26] The court papers stated that in order for the film to be released to the public the final version of the film must be screened to representatives of Jackson's Estate.^[27]

Release

Marketing

On September 9, the film's official theatrical movie poster was released. On September 10, 2009, it was reported that MTV's Video Music Awards's, which at the time had already announced that they would honor Jackson at the show would premiere the film's first, and only known, trailer.^[28] The trailer premiered, as scheduled, right before the end of the VMAs show.^[29] The show was watched by a total of 9 million people; a 17% increase over 2008's show and the biggest ratings since the 2004 award show.^[30] On September 13, 2009, it was reported that a "secret Michael Jackson [promotional music] single is being produced" to promote the film, at which the film would have, at the time, been released the following month.^[31] It was reported that Jackson had recorded the song for release with his planned summer tour but after his death it was shelved until producers in Los Angeles remixed the vocals with an orchestral accompaniment.^[32]

On September 23, 2009, it was reported that the film's new song This Is It will be released on October 12, 2009; sixteen days before the film's release.^[32][33][34] On October 9, it was confirmed that the song will debut online Monday at midnight - the song, will get its world premiere on MichaelJackson.com.^[35] On September 21, 2009, Sony released a 45-second clip of Jackson rehearsing his performance for "Human Nature" and also released stills from the video clip.^[36][37] As part of print marketing for the film Entertainment Weekly magazine did a cover story of the film for the magazine's October 16, 2009, issue, to collide with the films release for that same month.^[38][39] Also as part of promotion for the film, Entertainment Weekly released 8 "never before seen" movie stills from the film.^[40] On October 21, a clip of Jackson rehearsing The Way You Make Me Feel was released.^[41] On October 21, a 2 minute featurette of the film was released.^[42]

In September 2009, Sony launched "This-Is-It-Fans.com", which allows fans to sign up for an 'alert' so that they can be able to take part in 'Michael Jackson's This Is It mosaic', in which fans can upload photos to the website, beginning from September 21, to September 30, and the completed mosaic will be posted online on October 22; six days before the film's release.^[43] On September 24, 2009, MTV announced, after the success the project proved with New Moon, that they will allow MTV registered users, to "watch and comment on any scene" in the film's already released trailer." MTV described the project as "essentially [being] an in-video graphical overlay that allows users to comment on the video as it plays and review comments from other users.^[44]

Obtaining tickets

On September 25, 2009, lines opened at the courtyard outside the Nokia Theatre's L.A. Live complex in downtown Los Angeles. Dozens of people were waiting in line to purchase tickets three days before tickets went on sale through the box office.^[45] Though The Insider stated that there were crowds of people starting as early as September 24, afternoon.^[45] The L.A. Live complex; allowed people waiting in line the opportunity to bring chairs, one per person, and umbrellas due to the long wait ahead of them.^[45] It was reported that the "first 500 fans in line have been promised commemorative lenticular tickets designed by Jackson for the London concerts at the O2 Arena", the only other way to obtain those specialized tickets was to trade in your concert tickets to the now canceled tour.^[46]

MTV stated that, "Fans in line are also eligible to receive commemorative 'Michael Jackson's This Is It' T-shirts and posters [...] They're also being invited to sign the memorial wall set up outside the theater, which is open for anyone who wants to leave a message or memory" for Jackson^[46] A reported total of 3,000 movie tickets will be available for the early screening of the film on October 27, 2009, at the L.A. Live's new Regal Cinemas Stadium 14, marking it the movie theater's grand opening. It is the only screening location offering the advance shows and commemorative tickets.^[47] Jeff Labrecque of En commented, "Three months after Michael Jackson’s death, I’m still surprised by the passion of his fans."^[48] Bridget Daly of Hollyscoop commented on the waiting time for tickets that, she could "expect nothing less" from Jackson's fans.^[49]

Ticket sales

On September 27, the first day of ticket sales, all 3,000 tickets to the advanced screenings of the film had "sold out within two hours [on] early Sunday [September 27, 2009]." Fans had reportedly waited in line for days.^[50][51][52] CinemaBlend.com reported that over 160 showings had sold out.^[53] Reuters.com, stated that "hundreds of screenings in North America have already sold out, a month before the film's October 28 opening."^[54] According to MovieTickets.com, sales of tickets to the film have "accounted for more than 82 percent of all the tickets sold at the site today [Monday, September 28, 2009]." CinemaBlend.com described the sale of tickets on MovieTickets.com as being "fairly significant" - but remarked that "this is after all, just a concert documentary." It was reported that over 80 percent of tickets sold on Fandango.com were for this film.^[55] It was also reported that the film had "accounted for some 80% of all online ticketing in the U.S. within its first 24 hours of sales, dominating presales compared with such upcoming titles as Avatar and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.^[56] Sony, confirmed that over 30,000 tickets were sold in the first 24 hours that tickets went of sale.^[57][58] Sony also stated - as of September 28, - that the film's 'moved' over 1 million dollars in tickets sales in Japan.^[58] Sony announced in a press release that in the "last 24 hours [since September 27]", that over 80% of all Fandango.com and Movietickets.com sales for the film, had already sold out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Nashville and New York, among others and: "Internationally, exhibitors from London and Sydney to Bangkok and Tokyo have experienced the same epic demand." Sony stated in a statement of the film's good ticket sale's that: "Staggering advance sales were reported in Australia, where tickets for Michael Jackson's This Is It purchased through Village Cinemas exceeded the lifetime pre-sales of such blockbusters as Transformers and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In Bangkok, Thailand, fans lined up at box office ticket counters throughout the city, and by the end of the first day, all tickets for the first showings across Bangkok were sold out."" On Thursday October 1, 2009, Fandango.com stated the film was the 'top ticket seller' on the site.^[59] Both Fandango.com and Movietickets.com are reported that more than 1,600 screenings had already been sold out, via online pre-sales, by October 15.^[60] In United Kingdom, Vue Entertainment stated that they'd sold 64,000 tickets in the two-and-a-half weeks since ticket purchasing was made available, while Odeon Cinema stated that they'd had the sales of over 60,000 tickets by October 15.^[61]

E! Online.com said of the film, based on its current record ticket selling, out-selling and making more revenue then Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert that: "Last year, Disney billed Miley Cyrus' Best of Both Worlds show as a one-week-only event. Then the film scored a $31 million opening weekend, and one week turned into 15. Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus became the top-grossing concert movie of all time. So far. While it's still early, This Is It is on track to top Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. During its first three days of sales, Fandango said, Jackson's film outpaced Cyrus' first three days by a wide three-to-one margin."^[59] Joel Cohen, the executive vice president of MovieTickets.com, said of the ticket sales: "Michael Jackson is such an iconic figure, with a fan base that transcends even some of the most bankable stars in Hollywood [...] We expected there to be a large demand for tickets for an ‘event' film like this one, but MovieTickets.com has never seen such a high volume of sellouts this far in advance for any movie."^[62] A spokesperson for Fandango.com, stated that, as of October 4, that: "The [film is the] best-selling concert film of all time. We were expecting a huge rush of ticket sales within the first few days. They are still going strong as of Thursday, fives days in. It shows no sign of abating." Nikki Finke stated that she felt the film "could shatter box-office records" and predicted that they will take in a total of $250 million in its first five days of release alone - which would make it the biggest opening of all time; taking that record from the current title-holder The Dark Knight, which earned $203 million in its first five days of release.

Record sales

Stuart Boreman, Vue Entertainment's film buying director, stated that the film's sales of over 30,000 tickets in the period of 1 day (24 hours) had broken 'box office records' of having the 'biggest ever one-day sales record' in the United Kingdom. Boreman stated: "I've never seen anything like it in the 25 years I have been film buying" and described the film's ticket sales as "a true phenomenon and sales show no sign of slowing down."^[63] It was reported that fans had "lined" up at the box office ticket counters throughout the city of Bangkok, Thailand, and that by the end of the first day "all tickets for the first showings across Bangkok were sold out."^[58] It was also reported that there were "sell-outs at theaters in France" and that "thousands of fans lined up at The Grand Rex in Paris and quickly bought out the film's first screening there [...] Record-setting sales also were recorded in Germany [...] hundreds of fans lined up outside one theater in Munich at midnight to await the opening of the box office." A German exhibitor said of crowds of people lining up for tickets to the film, that: "Something like this never happened before in Germany.""" Among other countries, "record sales" and "sell-outs" are also being reported in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand."^[58]

On October 1, 2009, MovieTickets.com said it had already "sold a record of more than 550 sellouts." On October 7, 2009; three weeks prior to the film's release, MovieTickets.com stated that the film had entered their "Top-25 Advance Ticket Sellers of All-Time", bumping The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring from the Number 25 slot.^[64] A week before the film was to be released in South Africa it was confirmed that the film had broke multiple pre-sale ticket records for a film release in South Africa.^[65] With over 18,000 tickets already sold by October 21, 2009, and "only a few tickets left over" for the film's premiere at 2:00 am premiere on the 28, that is double what the previous record set by Quantum of Solace (2008) had, with, the pre-sales of over 7,500 tickets.^[65] By October 27, Kinekor cinemas sold over 24,000 pre-sale tickets in South Africa, tripling the previous pre-sale record.^[66]

IMAX and release

Despite the fact that IMAX screenings are usually planned and booked months in advance by the film's movie distributors, Regal Entertainment Group, America's largest cinema chain, stated on September 30, that they would screen IMAX versions of the film at their cinemas.^[67] Regal stated that they are planning on making 25 of their IMAX locations available for the screening of the film when it opened to the public on October 28.^[67] Dick Westerling, head of marketing and advertising for Regal, stated that the film was selected due to its strong ticket sales.^[67] IMAX Corporation and Sony stated that the film will open in digital IMAX theatres. and that the limited IMAX release will be played domestically during "evening show times" in 96 IMAX digital theaters, and additionally the movie will be played in 27 of the company's international digital locations.^[68] A key part of the IMAX DMR process includes re-mastering the soundtrack to take advantage of IMAX's 14,000 watt digital audio system.^[68]

On August 11, it was widely announced, and later confirmed, that the film would be released to theatres in October 2009, though at the time no specific date was released or confirmed.^[69] When confirmed it was reported that the film was set be released worldwide on October 30, 2009.^[70] Later in August it was announced that the film's release date was rescheduled two days early for October 28.^[71] Sony stated that the film's release date was moved up by two days due to an 'overwhelming demand' for the film."^[71] On October 6, it was reported and confirmed by a Sony executive, that the film had been chosen to be one of the last of China's "20 annual foreign movie import slots".^[72][73][74] China only allows 20 major foreign films to be released in the country every year on a revenue-sharing basis.^[74] Chinese censors had reportedly approved the film before the countries weeklong holiday that started on October 1, clearing it in time for the global release date of October 28.^[74][75] Li Chow, manger of Sony Pictures Releasing International's stated that Sony will give the movie as wide a release as possible because of Jackson's popularity in China.^[74][76]

Controversy

In September 2009, AEG, stated that based on the positive enthusiasm by fans for waiting in lines for days for tickets to the film, that they'd hoped that it was a sign that the public hadn't felt that they were exploiting Jackson after his death.^[77] Tim Leiweke, the president of AEG, stated that he hoped that the film would give fans some peace of mind that as a company, Jackson's 'legacy' and well being was always a priority and the fact that people had thought otherwise had really "hurt" people at AEG.^[77] Leiweke stated,

"Some of the things that people have said about us, which are so untrue, this movie's going to restore his legacy, and prove that we, in fact, gave Michael a second chance here. And an opportunity to make the kind of comeback he was dreaming of. And that we created an environment for him that was probably the best environment that the guy had the last 10 or 15 years of his life. And I'm very proud of the way we treated Michael, and very proud of the partnership that we had with him. And this movie is an opportunity to celebrate that, and we could get past all of the gossip and all of the innuendo."^[77]

Multiple members of Jackson's family had opposed the film from the start in August 2009.^[78] Jackson's nephews tried to go to court to try to stop negotiations between AEG Live and Sony.^[78] Jackson's older sister La Toya stated that she felt that Michael wouldn't have wanted the film to have been released because he wasn't giving his all into his performances.^[79] Jackson's mother, Katherine stated that she cannot watch the film, still under grief by Jackson's death, but hopes to watch it "another time".^[80] Despite members of the Jackson family opposing the film, Sony confirmed that they had given the entire family 60 premiere tickets to the film.^[81]

In October 2009, Jackson's father, Joe stated and had strongly insisted that the film "is mostly body doubles" and that "the media is going to tear this movie apart" because of it.^[78] TMZ stated that members of the Jackson family had felt that footage of "Jackson" in the film wasn't him - but rather body double(s).^[82] On October 27, 2009 - the day before the film's release, Sony released a statement denying rumors that the film had rehearsal footage of Jackson body doubles, describing the story as "pure garbage".^[82] However, according to the full credits of the film, backup dancer Misha Gabriel plays as a stunt double during some parts of the Smooth Criminal short film. However, this appears to be only during the part where Jackson jumps out of the glass window, as the film crew did not want Jackson to do the jump.

At the time of Jackson's death, and in the aftermath of it, multiple reports surfaced that AEG Live purposely tried to hide Jackson's health concerns during preparations for his scheduled concerts. Concerns included Jackson's frail appearance due to lack of eating that had reportedly caused Jackson to be unable to perform from lack of strength^[83] and that AEG had used body doubles in rehearsals to stand in for Jackson.^[78] After Jackson's death, AEG stated that there was no truth to any of the rumors and that Jackson was thin but in good enough condition to perform.^[84] On October 23, days before the film's release, fans of Jackson launched a protest campaign against the film entitled "This Is NOT It".^[85][86] The campaign's focus was to convince people that Jackson's health was neglected by AEG, among others, and that AEG was partly responsible for Jackson's death and now the company is making a profit off Jackson's death.^[87] The group started a website and created their own 'trailer' for the movie to showcase their point-of-view on the documentary.^[87] The protestors also inaccurately claimed that Jackson was 108 pounds (49 kg) at his death, contradicting Jackson's autopsy, which had stated that Jackson weighed 136 pounds (61 kg).^[88] Shortly after the protest became news, The Guardian conducted a poll on their website asking users "What do you think of Michael Jackson's posthumous film Is This It?", 51.4% agreed with one of the two options: "I agree with the fans who are boycotting it - it's shameless profiteering".^[89]

Reception

Box office

The film performed decently at the box office,^[5] grossing more internationally than in North America.^[4] As of March 1, 2011, the film's total worldwide gross is over $261 million.^[4] Sony's exit polling indicated that the film's commercial potential was of an audience consisting mostly of adult women.^[5] The film made 19.1 million in 3 and a half days of its wide release,^[90] going on to take first place in the weekend box office chart with $23,234,394 at 3,481 theaters—with, a per-theater average of $6,675 over the period of five days.^[4] This return had "underperformed" to both Sony and film analysts expectations,—Sony's had originally expected the film to make an estimated 50 million,^[91] but after the film's "disappointing" three-day gross, due to some fans, mostly in North America, boycotting the movie and issuing boycott propaganda in social networks and media, Sony lowered their expectations to 35 million,^[92] while analysts expected an estimated 30 million for the weekend.^[93] In the film's second weekend of wide release, it declined to 43.4%,^[94] making $13,157,944, placing it at second at the box office, behind A Christmas Carol—which had grossed more than twice what This Is It made.^[95] The film completed its theatrical run in North America on December 3, 2009.^[93]

This Is It made its international debut in 110 territories on October 28–30, 2009. The film's revenue mainly consisted of international sales - 72.4%. These box office results is another proof that Michael Jackson has a huge fan base throughout the world.^[4] Throughout the film's international release, it performed strongly at the box office, despite some criticism from other fans in North America. On November 7, the film surpassed the $100 million mark at the foreign box office, reaching block-buster status.^[4][96] This Is It had a good performance at the Australian box office with total gross of $8,734,295^[97][98] and $1,878,725^[99] (in Australian currency).^[99] This Is It debuted at first place at the United Kingdom box office, with the revenue of £4,877,255.^[100] In the film's second weekend of release, with the gross revenue of the previous week being down 52%,^[101] with £1,355,855, it placed at second at the United Kingdom—having been outgrossed by A Christmas Carol, which, similar to its second week at the North American box office, had been knocked to second place by the film.^[102] The film's international revenue was significantly contributed to within Japan—with $58,4 million, followed by the United Kingdom—with $16 million.^[103] With 261 million worldwide, This Is It became the highest-grossing documentary of all-time.^[4]

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 80% of 162 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.1 out of 10. The site's general consensus is that "While it may not be the definitive concert film (or the insightful backstage look) some will hope for, Michael Jackson's This Is It packs more than enough entertainment value to live up to its ambitious title."^[104] Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 87%, based on a sample of 30 reviews.^[105] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 67 based on 32 reviews.^[106]

Roger Ebert, of Chicago Sun Times described the film as being an "extraordinary documentary", and stated that the film was "nothing at all like what" he was expecting to see.^[107] Ebert dismissed reports that Jackson was in poor health and was underperforming, stating that the film didn't show a "sick and drugged man forcing himself through grueling rehearsals, but a spirit embodied by music" and referred to Jackson's rehearsal performance(s) as having been "something else".^[107] Kirt Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film for being "strange yet strangely beguiling" for capturing Jackson in "feverish grips of pure creativity" and stated that while the film presents that audience with a screen filled with everyone ranging from "performers, musicians, choreographers, crew members, craftsmen", she took notice that the film had primarily focused on Jackson.^[108] Honeycutt cited that the only thing that frustrated him more than knowing the "tragedy" that prevented the concert from happening was "not knowing what you're looking at" and commented that the film did not feel like a complete concert film because it had a grip on the audience, stating: "Where are Jackson and his conspirators at any given moment in the creative process? The film tries to be a concert film without having the actual footage. So when everything comes to a halt, audiences get thrown."^[108]

Peter Travers, of Rolling Stone described watching Jackson's "struggle" as being "illuminating, unnerving and unforgettable" and felt that the film was a great "transcendent tribute" to Jackson because it didn't have, nor need, a "safety net".^[109] Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle said of the film: "Neither a true concert film nor a strict behind-the-scenes documentary, This Is It is, like Jackson himself, a real hybrid." She felt that, while the film was "made up of lots of grainy footage, which Ortega has edited together seamlessly", it would also "provide a fitting farewell".^[110] Baumgarten noted that "the finished film is a fairly complete concert run-through with each song edited" and that, while the film will easily show that it was made for a profit, the audience would consider it a "fitting elegy."^[110] Joe Morgenstern, of The Wall Street Journal, felt the film was "expertly packaged—brilliantly packaged", and noted that the film had "quite convincingly" emphasized that Jackson had enough energy to perform, even with his "wraith-thin body".^[111]

Ann Powers, of the Los Angeles Times said that, while the film offers only a few "insights into Jackson's artistic process, though enough surface to make this a useful document, as well as a beautiful one", the film is "a piece with Jackson's body of work: dazzling and strange, blurring the line between fantasy and reality".^[112] She described Ortega's editing to make the film feel like a real concert film as being "almost too good to believe".^[112] Powers praised the film for showing "intimate views" of Jackson, like his "vulnerable moments" during performances, and felt the film was made "to honor not just the memory of Jackson but the hard work of a big cast and crew that never made it to opening night", which she felt mostly is a tribute to the "power of Jackson's body and voice".^[112] Powers stated she felt the film was such "a tragic teaser for the shows that might have been, 'This Is It' hurts. If Jackson had been able to perform as he frequently does during these scenes, he would have accomplished the comeback for which he was so hungry."^[112] She noted that Jackson's "total lack of engagement with the cameras adds to the unreal mood" because he was always performing – "but for the imagined masses, not for the filmgoer" and that the film doesn't "entirely acknowledge that reality, and that's a little odd".^[112]

On the other hand, Lou Lumenick of the New York Post strongly criticized both the film and Jackson's performances. Lumenick argued Jackson moved "stiffly and lethargically" and that it was "clear" that Jackson was lip-synching while performing 'Thriller'.^[113] He felt Jackson's performance of 'Smooth Criminal' looked "incongruous, to say the least" and that "the hokey environmental visuals accompanying 'Earth Song' are even worse", and cited Beat It as being the movie's "only half-decent number".^[113] Lumenick said that he was certain that a "perfectionist" like Jackson wouldn't want to have been remembered by a "shoddy piece of exploitation".^[113] David Edwards, of the Daily Mirror, stated that, while he felt that the film was a "success", he overall disliked the film, having felt that "as an exercise in wringing every last penny from Jackson's legacy" the film "most certainly isn't" a tribute.^[114] Alex Fletcher, of Digital Spy, described the film as "essential viewing" and praised it for showing "the real Michael Jackson", ie "difficult, odd, kind, obsessive and funny". He cited Jackson's best performances as Thriller and Billie Jean, and the "worst material", Earth Song.^[19] While, Fletcher felt that, based on the rehearsal footage, Jackson "falls short of his groundbreaking 'Dangerous' and 'Bad' world tours", he noted that Jackson's age and thinness was mostly likely a factor in his performances and described Jackson as having more "star quality and charisma than a million Simon Cowell factory-line production pop singers".^[19]

Home Media

This Is It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America on January 26, 2010. It sold over 1.5 million units in U.S., alone within its first week of release, setting a new record for the first week sales of a music DVD.^[115] The film was released in the same day in Japan, also breaking records, with $18 million in sales on the title's first day of release — $11.3 million in DVD and $6.7 million in Blu-ray - breaking Ponyo's record of $6.2 million.^[116]

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External links

• Official website
• Michael Jackson's This Is It at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Jackson's This Is It at AllRovi
• Michael Jackson's This Is It at Rotten Tomatoes
• Michael Jackson's This Is It at Box Office Mojo