Michael Jackson's This Is It is a 2009 American concert film documenting Michael Jackson's rehearsals of the concert series of the same name (scheduled to start on July 13, 2009, but canceled because of his death eighteen days prior on June 25), both on stage and behind the scenes. The film, dedicated to Jackson's three children Michael Jr. (Prince), Paris-Michael and Prince Michael (Blanket), shows Jackson mentoring his team for the 50 shows, as well as him creating, developing, and ultimately staging the high-tech performances. The film's director Ortega confirmed that when Jackson had filmed footage of himself rehearsing that he never had the intention of releasing it to the public, but after Jackson's death, it was agreed that the film be made and released for Jackson's fans. The footage was filmed at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Despite originally being set for an October 30, release date, the film's release date was rescheduled for October 28, 2009; due to a strong demand by Jackson's fans. The film was given a wide worldwide release and a limited two-week theatrical run from October 28, to November 12, 2009. Tickets went on sale a month early on September 27, 2009, to satisfy a high anticipated demand; to date, the film has broken numerous records via tickets both pre-sale and sales worldwide.
Since the film's confirmation, AEG Live has faced criticism; mostly consisting of theories that they'd only made the film solely for them to be able to make a profit off Jackson. Multiple members of Jackson's family had confirmed that they didn't support the film and some family members went as far as to try to stop the film agreement in August. The film has also been surrounded by multiple controversies, including allegations regarding the appearance of body doubles in place of Jackson, which Sony denied, and an outrage from Jackson fans; with some going as far as to start a protest against the film. On August 10, 2009, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved a deal between Michael Jackson's estate, concert promoter AEG Live, and Sony Pictures. The agreement allowed Sony to edit the hundreds of hours of rehearsal footage needed to create the film. Sony subsequently paid $60 million for the film rights.
The trailer premiered during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards on September 13, 2009,; along with the simultaneous launching of the film's official website. The film was released to mainly positive reviews from both critics and Jackson fans; the film's portrayal of Jackson and his performances were generally praised, while criticism mainly consisted of both critics and fans having felt that the film was made just to profit off Jackson's death and that Jackson wouldn't have wanted the film released because he was a "perfectionist". In the film's opening weekend it grossed over $23 million - in the United States alone - making the film number one at the box office and making it the fifth highest-grossing Halloween debut. With the film's current worldwide revenue gross of over $113 million, the film is the highest grossing concert movie in history.
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