Jackson's This is It dominates box office 

Michael Jackson's much-hyped concert movie reigned at the worldwide box office, but its performance in North America was hardly a thriller.

This Is It, composed mostly of rehearsal footage recorded in the weeks before the King of Pop's death in June, earned an estimated $US101 million ($NZ140 m) in the five days since opening globally on Wednesday, distributor Columbia Pictures says.

Moviegoers in the United States and Canada contributed $32.5 million ($45.3 m). In the days leading up to its opening, industry forecasters said it could earn at least $40 million ($55.8 m).

"This has always, always been a worldwide play," said Rory Bruer, president of worldwide distribution at Columbia's parent Sony Corp. "We're very happy with the results domestically, but ecstatic with the worldwide."

Columbia has shied away from issuing global forecasts because of a dearth of comparable concert films. The record for such movies is held by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus - Best of Both Worlds, which earned $65 million domestically last year.

The film's prospects were not helped by Halloween, which fell on a Saturday for the first time since 1998, siphoning off a large swathe of potential North American moviegoers on the biggest night of the week.

Columbia said it extended the planned two-week limited run in North America through Thanksgiving (November 29). Foreign territories will extend the run on a case-by-case basis.

The studio paid Jackson's estate and closely held concert promoter AEG about $60 million ($83.7 m) for the rights, but will deduct the production costs from its tab. As for box office revenues, which are usually split evenly with movie theater owners, Sony will share its haul with the estate and AEG according to a complex, undisclosed formula.

---

---