'This Is It' Posts Solid Worldwide Haul

posted November 1, 2009 8:20 AM

According to studio weekend estimates, Michael Jackson's This Is It finished in first place this weekend with a modest domestic haul of $21.3 million. The concert film has grossed $32.5 million domestically since opening last Wednesday, which is way below industry expectations. Online sales for the film had been incredibly strong and general interest levels seemed to be much higher than the box office results have ultimately shown.

Luckily, This Is It's international haul is quite impressive. According to Sony, it has already grossed $68.5 million internationally, which gives the concert film a worldwide cume of $101 million. That makes This Is It the most successful concert film of all time since the previous record holder, Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, had a lifetime worldwide gross of $71.3 million.

Sony has already extended This Is It's planned two-week run so that it can play through Thanksgiving weekend.

Paranormal Activity continues to draw audiences in. The Paramount release grabbed $16.5 million during its sixth weekend in theaters, and it will easily cross the $100 million mark before the end of its run.

Saw VI is dropping like a stone. The Lionsgate release fell an unhealthy 61 percent during its sophomore frame. While the horror film will still end up making a profit, it's not nearly as successful as its predecessors.

Overture's Law Abiding Citizen is holding its audience quite well, and it's turned out to be the most successful film in the young distributor's history.

Overall box office receipts should total around $87 million this weekend, which puts it 1.5 percent behind the same weekend last year. 2009's total domestic haul is now 7.5 percent ahead of 2008's at the exact same point in the year.

Check back tomorrow for weekend actuals.

Additional reporting by Daniel Garris.

1 Comments

John said:

People keep saying the worldwide box office is impressive, but I don't get it. They are going to have to gross $300 million in ticket sales just to break even. And to compare it to Hannah Montana's worldwide gross is ridiculous. That movie was in very limited release overseas, for reasons not the least of which, there weren't enough 3D theaters at the time. There were less than 700 3D theaters in America at the time.

November 2, 2009 4:18 PM

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About the Groggers

After having his first film review published at the age of 16, Phil Contrino has worked for five years as a freelance entertainment writer covering film, music and television. In addition to writing about the entertainment industry, he has contributed to the world’s largest poker magazine, Bluff.

To get a piece of what a member of the MySpace/Facebook generation thinks, check back often for Phil’s take on all things film.

Past Posts

‘2012’ #1 on Eve of ‘New Moon’

‘2012’ Leads Wednesday Box Office

‘2012’ Continues to Dominate

‘2012’ Destroys the Competition

$65.2 Million Debut For ‘2012’

Moviegoers Respond to Apocalypse

'2012' Set to Exceed $60 Million

$41 Million Seven-Day Start for ‘Carol’

‘Christmas Carol’ Leads Veterans Day

Strong Tuesday for ‘Christmas Carol’

‘A Christmas Carol’ #1 on Monday

$30.1 M Start for ‘A Christmas Carol’

'Christmas Carol' Opens in First

'Christmas Carol' Set to Grab $33 Million

$43.9 M For ‘This Is It’ in Nine Days