Michael Jackson's "This Is It" On Pace to Break Movie Records

Michael Jackson's This Is It began its two-week theatrical run by grossing $2.2 million from its special advanced screenings alone, putting the doc on pace for the highest-grossing opening week for a concert film ever. The current record holder is Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which made $31 million its opening weekend in 2008, Variety reports. This Is It grossed an additional $2.2 million by midday Wednesday, and early foreign estimates predict the film is doing just as well overseas.

Look back at Jackson's life and career, in photos.

As Rolling Stone previously reported, Sony bought the hundreds of hours of footage and distribution rights of This Is It for $60 million from AEG Live, the concert promoter staging Jackson's run of 50 concerts at London's O2 Arena. Unlike most films that are in production for the better part of a year, This Is It only had a turnaround of three months from when the footage was purchased to when it was released, but by all accounts so far, including Elizabeth Taylor's, This Is It is a success. The film's soundtrack is also poised to top the charts next week.

Rolling Stone reported from an advance screening in New York that "This Is It is proof that Jackson did still have it: the magical voice, the gravity-defying moves (most of them), the clear-headed artistic vision of one of the greatest artists of our time." Audiences were packed with fans paying tribute to Jackson — some came to the theater in bejeweled gloves, others did the "Thriller" dance in the theater lobby.

As a testament of Jackson's worldwide appeal, when the film premiered in Los Angeles at 6 p.m. PST Tuesday, This Is It was unveiled simultaneously around the world, so many sold-out theaters in Europe were actually premiering the film at 2 a.m. or later.

Related Stories:
• Michael Jackson's Final Dreams Come to Life as "This Is It" Film Premieres
• Michael Jackson Is "Genius" In "This Is It" Tweets Elizabeth Taylor
• Report: Columbia Pictures Scores Jackson Rehearsal Footage

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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