question of the day: Will the Michael Jackson film ‘This Is It’ break box office records?

It seems a tad preposterous to me, but Moo! News is reporting that Sony expects beyond blockbuster performance for the Michael Jackson concert movie This Is It:

Doug Belgrad, the production president for Sony, is confident that the sorrow from abroad over the death of the King of Pop will translate to enthusiasm for his last performance, which was taped and then assembled to create the 108-minute film in only 3 months. The company believes in it so much that they expect an estimate of $250 million in ticket sales during just the first 5 days the movie is on screen. This is a very big estimate, which would beat the current $204 million record held by “The Dark Knight”. They also believe the film will generate about $1 billion in revenues.

Weeks ago, Sony was already reporting record advance ticket sales, but bigger than The Dark Knight? I haven’t seen the film yet — no one at all will see it till tomorrow night, when the first press screenings and the Los Angeles premiere will occur simultaneously; public screenings then begin at midnight — but it’s hard not to anticipate a certain ghoulishness surrounding the film, particularly since it has been hastily assembled from footage from the rehearsals Jackson was in when he died.

Or Jackson’s fan too legion and too passionate not to make this the biggest movie ever? Will the Michael Jackson film This Is It break box office records?

(If you have a suggestion for a QOTD, feel free to email me. Responses to this QOTD sent by email will be ignored; please post your responses here.)

share and enjoy
               
If you haven’t commented here before, your first comment will be held for MaryAnn’s approval. This is an anti-spam, anti-troll, anti-abuse measure. If your comment is not spam, trollish, or abusive, it will be approved, and all your future comments will post immediately. (Further comments may still be deleted if spammy, trollish, or abusive, and continued such behavior will get your account deleted and banned.)
If you’re logged in here to comment via Facebook and you’re having problems, please see this post.
PLEASE NOTE: The many many Disqus comments that were missing have mostly been restored! I continue to work with Disqus to resolve the lingering issues and will update you asap.
subscribe
notify of
9 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
view all comments
Pollas
Pollas
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 12:36pm

I don’t know. I don’t plan on seeing it.

travis
travis
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 12:57pm

I will be seeing it Wednesday night with my family. We are excited to see it!

Steve
Steve
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 1:12pm

Theres not many people who know what this film will be like. i think it will be a box office hit if people go and tell their friends michael was in top form. even the people who don’t think they will go at the moment may choose othwise if word gets spread about how good it is. on the other hand if word speads that its not that great, the there will be the opposite effect. Roll on tomorrow for the answer. as for me I cant wit to see it.

Sia
Sia
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 3:58pm

I don’t know how big it will be and I don’t plan on seeing it but I do love Michael’s music.

John Voorhees
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 5:33pm

I think the whole thing’s a bit ghoulish, to be honest.

Lawschool_Douchebag
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 6:15pm

I cannot wait to see this Micheal Jackson movie! Ever since he died, I completely forgot about his pedophilia! Apparently the rest of America did too! MJ is a hero!

Pollas
Pollas
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 7:03pm

I don’t care what word of mouth the film gets. Loved the man’s music, could care less about the man himself (no disrespect for the dead intended).

Tim1974
Tim1974
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 8:15pm

I have enjoyed Michael’s music but I am not planning on seeing it at the theatre. When it eventually comes to cable, I will probably catch it then. I would suspect with Michael’s world wide appeal it will do very well.

iakobos
iakobos
Mon, Oct 26, 2009 9:47pm

It may break records but not because of me. I have no interest in it.