After only two weeks in theaters, Michael Jackson’s This Is It concert rehearsal documentary has crossed the $200 million threshold worldwide. As Rolling Stone previously reported, Sony purchased the rights to the concert footage for $60 million, and while the company just broke even on their investment in North America, domestically grossing $61 million, internationally This Is It has raked in more than $140 million, Reuters reports.

Read our opening night review of This Is It. (more…)

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Michael Jackson’s private funeral cost his estate more than $1 million, according to court documents released yesterday. Jackson’s final resting place, a crypt at Forest Lawn’s Great Mausoleum, cost $590,000 alone, while invitations to the King of Pop’s funeral carried an $11,000 price tag.

See photos from Michael Jackson’s funeral.

“It was Michael Jackson. He was bigger than life when he was alive,” attorney Howard Weitzman said after the financial detail of the funeral were revealed. According to the Los Angeles Times, other factors contributing to the million dollar tab were $16,000 for the florist bill, $30,000 for security and the fleet of luxury cars, and $21,000 to the Italian restaurant that hosted the “funeral repast.” (more…)

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Dr. Arnold Klein, Michael Jackson’s personal dermatologist and a subject of scrutiny in the months following the singer’s death, sat down with TMZ’s Harvey Levin for a 90-plus minute interview that revisits Jackson’s alleged prescription drug use and his insecurity over his acne.

Look back at Michael Jackson’s life in photos.

“He was in the hands of doctors who didn’t know what they were doing,” Klein told TMZ, adding that Dr. Conrad Murray, the focus of the investigation into Jackson’s death, was both unqualified to administer Propofol and shouldn’t have been offering the drug to Jackson in the first place. TMZ asked Klein about medical records showing that Klein himself administered Demerol to Jackson at a frequent rate — at one point, there were 179 procedures in three months — but Klein responded by saying the treatments were necessary as he attempted to “rebuild” Jackson’s face. (more…)

The Big News: The King of Pop resumed his spot at the top of the charts this week. The soundtrack to Michael Jackson’s concert rehearsal documentary This Is It sold 373,000 copies to cruise to Number One on the Billboard Top 200. Jackson albums like Number Ones and Thriller have frequently hit Number One on the Top Comprehensive Charts following his June 25th death, however the albums were ineligible for the Top 200. (Regardless, Number Ones is the best-selling album of 2009.) Jackson’s last official Number One debut came with Invincible in 2001, and This Is It earned Jackson’s best first-week sales since HIStory moved 391,000 units in 1995. (Visit our Michael Jackson page for more news, plus photos and stories from the RS archives.)

Creed’s Full Circle, the band’s first album since 2001’s Weathered, entered the charts at Number Two, selling 110,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The reunited band’s previous two albums, Human Clay and Weathered, both debuted at Number One, with the latter sitting atop the charts for eight straight weeks. Taylor Swift’s Fearless celebrated its 51st week on the charts by selling another 109,000 copies, good for Number Three. Two more debuts rounded out the Top Five: Rod Stewart’s Soulbook and Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Night Castle. (more…)

After five days in theaters, Michael Jackson’s This Is It grossed more than $101 million worldwide, making Sony’s $60 million investment in the concert rehearsal footage profitable after only one week, Variety reports. Additionally, with no DVD due out until early 2010, Sony extended This Is It’s two-week theatrical run by three weeks in North America, keeping the King of Pop in theaters through Thanksgiving.

Read our opening night review of This Is It.

In the days following This Is It’s cinematic release on October 27th, Hollywood pundits argued whether the film was a hit or a disappointment based on early box-office projections. This Is It was expected to finish the week in the $30-40 million range in the U.S., and while final numbers put the film at the lower end of that prediction with a haul of $32.5 million, Halloween weekend has historically sapped box office receipts. However, This Is It dominated overseas, raking in $68.5 million in five days to top the foreign box office. Japan alone contributed $10.4 million, followed by $7.6 million from the U.K., Variety reports. This Is It also registered the fifth best international box office week of 2009.

See photos from Jackson’s This Is It rehearsals. (more…)

Michael Jackson’s This Is It grossed $20.1 million worldwide in its first official day in theaters, raking in $7.4 million in domestic box office and a remarkable $12.7 million overseas. This Is It’s haul comes up short when compared Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which grossed $8.6 million its first day in theaters on its way to the current highest-grossing debut week for a concert film, Variety reports. However, Hannah debuted on a Friday, while This Is It’s official premiere came on an October Wednesday during the World Series, so by early estimates Jackson should be King of the box office this weekend.

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

It was previously reported that a This Is It DVD would be released prior to Christmas, but due to a regulation that usually forces studios to wait a minimum 90 days before releasing a new film to DVD, This Is It has been pushed to a late January or early February DVD release, the Los Angeles Times reports. (more…)

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. (more…)

Photo:Kevin Mazur/AEG Live via Getty Images

There’s a moment near the beginning of This Is It, the concert film assembled from Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his 50-show run at London’s O2 Arena, where the star’s crew of 11 carefully hand-picked dancers becomes an army 1,000 strong thanks to some eye-popping green-screen work for “They Don’t Care About Us.” Audiences in New York gasped at the sight — for the first of many times — of what would clearly have been one of the biggest stage spectacles of all time.

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

Everyone knows why Jackson never got to bring his dream show to life, and in the days before his death many doubted he’d be able to pull off the gigs regardless. He was frail, thin, sickly; the opening shows had been postponed because the production wasn’t ready. But in the late hours of June 25th, as the public scrambled to understand what could have killed the star, those responsible for the This Is It production insisted the MJ they knew was fit, strong, persistent. They said rehearsal footage would prove it.

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. The film debuted simultaneously in 16 cities last night, including Los Angeles, where Jackson’s brothers attended a screening, and several locations in New York, like a Chelsea theater where fans danced to “Thriller” in the lobby, ushers were outfitted in special This Is It T-shirts, and fans signed a memory mosaic as they shuffled out the door. (more…)

Michael Jackson’s This Is It is premiering tonight at a series of screenings in a few cities before opening worldwide tomorrow for an exclusive two-week run. Rolling Stone will have a full report on the movie — culled together from the King of Pop’s rehearsals for what would have been a record-breaking 50 concerts at London’s O2 Arena — first thing tomorrow, but for now, catch the big-name stars arriving at the movie’s official debut in a live stream.

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Michael Jackson’s This Is It will begin its two-week theatrical run tonight as special advance engagements screen in select cities around the world (the film opens wide tomorrow). After Rolling Stone saw a few scenes from the film last week, we called the footage “impressive” and said Jackson — just weeks before his June 25th death — “hits all the notes, nails all the dance moves.” Elizabeth Taylor, a close friend of Jackson’s, also watched the film last week and was amazed by what she saw, taking to her Twitter page to rave about the King of Pop’s documentary.

See photos from Jackson’s This Is It rehearsals.

“To say the man is a genius is an understatement. He cradles each note, coaxes the music to depths beyond reality,” Taylor wrote in a long parade of tweets, which you can read in its entirety below. “I wept from pure joy at his God given gift. There will never, ever be the likes of him again.” Taylor went on to praise director Kenny Ortega, who was also Jackson’s collaborative partner on the planned This Is It stage show. The two-time Best Actress Oscar winner also said This Is It “should be nominated in every category conceivable.” (more…)

Photo: Shearer/AEG/Concerts West via Getty

In five days, Michael Jackson fans will get their first real look at the comeback show that could have restored his reputation as the world’s greatest entertainer when the documentary This Is It hits 3,000 U.S. screens (and nearly 19,000 international theaters) for a two-week run. The film’s director, Kenny Ortega, says he had those fans in mind when he helped cut down 120 hours of rehearsal footage for Jackson’s 50-show run at London’s O2 Arena into the feature-length movie.

“There was this desire to have one more visit with Michael, one more experience with him,” says Ortega, who was choreographing Jackson’s show. “It’s powerful. It’s moving, it’s entertaining. It’s big.”

Two pieces of footage from This Is It screened for Rolling Stone were indeed impressive, and Jackson, who died after a lethal combination of sedatives stopped his heart on June 25th, appears professional and nimble on the screen. “Human Nature” begins with just Jackson and his guitarist, and it’s clear he’s totally in command of his body and his voice. “The Way You Make Me Feel” segues from a doo-wop intro into the song’s more familiar arrangement when Jackson punches out a fist and emits a little growl. When the band misses its cue, he firmly instructs, “Watch me for that growl!” (more…)

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The fight over control of Michael Jackson’s assets is continuing in the courts. Though Jackson named two executors in his 2002 will (see it here) — lawyer John Branca and music executive John McClain — the singer’s mother, Katherine, has continued to argue that the family should be more involved in business decisions. Katherine and Jackson’s three children are set to receive the bulk of the King of Pop’s estate, with unspecified charities getting the remaining 20 percent.

Displeased with the family’s legal representation, the family has switched lawyers, bringing in Hollywood heavyweight Adam Streisand to replace Burt Levich and Londell McMillan. Streisand’s first day on the Jackson case came just moments after a hearing that granted more authority to Branca and McClain to make deals for the Jackson estate, CNN reports. Streisand said the family “felt they needed a different perspective and fresh look at how this case was being approached.”

Look back at Jackson’s remarkable career, in photos. (more…)

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Michael Jackson’s three children may appear on the upcoming reality show The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, A&E said in a statement yesterday, all but rescinding a prior statement that said the children were “not a part of” the series. Us Weekly first revealed that the Jackson children would be featured in some capacity on the show, even though the family was at odds about it. According to Us, Michael’s older sister Rebbie “feels Michael would spin in his grave if he knew his kids would be on this show.”

Look back at Michael Jackson’s life in photos. (more…)

Paul Anka will reportedly receive 50 percent of the publishing rights from the “new” Michael Jackson song “This Is It” after it was discovered that the track — which debuted online Monday at midnight — was in fact a song Jackson and Anka co-wrote in 1983. The Jackson estate worked quickly to rectify their error after being informed that “This Is It” was an early take of the song that was later recorded as “I Never Heard” by the singer Safire in 1991. Anka had threatened legal action, but TMZ reports he will instead receive publishing rights from the song, the centerpiece of the upcoming soundtrack to Jackson rehearsal documentary This Is It.

See photos from Jackson’s This Is It rehearsals.

“They did the right thing,” Anka told the AP. “I don’t think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing — it was an honest mistake.” “This Is It” was reportedly found in a box of tapes as a demo featuring only Jackson’s voice and piano. Chairman of Columbia/Epic Records Rob Stringer admitted in an interview that it wasn’t until Jackson fans discussed the similarities between the two tracks that the company realized its error, New York Times reports. (more…)

As Rolling Stone previously reported, the title track from Michael Jackson’s upcoming concert rehearsal film This Is It made its debut last night on the King of Pop’s official Website at midnight. “This Is It” — a gauzy ballad filled with strings and piano that was recorded during Jackson’s sessions for 1991’s Dangerous, but reportedly written in 1980 (between his releases of Off the Wall and Thriller) — opens with Jackson singing, “This is it, here I stand/I’m the light of the world, I feel grand/Got this love I can feel/And I know yes for sure it is real” as he tenderly hits his signature high notes crooning about a new lover he feels he’s known “since 1,000 years” and never thought he’d fall for. Musically, “This Is It” sounds most similar to “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” the duet Jackson sang with Siedah Garrett on 1987’s Bad. The New York Times points out the song’s resemblance to the Jackson and Paul Anka-penned “I Never Heard,” which was released by Safire in 1991.

See photos from Jackson’s This Is It rehearsals here.

The new song features background vocals by Jackson’s brothers and will be played during the closing sequence of the film. Two versions of “This Is It,” the original and an orchestral take, will be included on the two-disc soundtrack due out October 27, just one day before the This Is It documentary premieres. The second disc also includes an unreleased spoken word track of a poem written by Jackson titled “Planet Earth.” (more…)