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Jackson movie opens tonight

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The Associated Press

Published: October 27, 2009

LOS ANGELES - The 50 comeback concerts Michael Jackson planned in London for last summer sold out in a few hours.

With those shows relegated to what-if status by his death in June, the question now is how well the singer can pack movie theaters with "Michael Jackson's This Is It," a chronicle of his concert preparations.
Advance ticket sales have been brisk, but no one has a handle on how big the turnout might be this week.

Some think it's likely to surpass the $31.1 million opening weekend and the $65.3 million lifetime haul of "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert," the biggest concert movie on record.

Some expect a $100 million total domestic haul. Others think it could go much higher.

Not quite a concert film, not quite a documentary, "This Is It" is like nothing that has hit theaters before. It comes just months after Jackson's death, with fans still eagerly digesting every scrap of news about him.

It truly is a final glimpse of an artist who ruled the pop charts in the 1980s before retreating to a reclusive life amid allegations of child molestation.

IF YOU GO

"Michael Jackson's This Is It" will debut at Bay area theaters at midnight tonight. Some theaters will wait until 12:01 a.m.

Channelside Cinemas 10 will have a "pre-party" with full liquor bar and DJ from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., according to its Web site.

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