Studio estimates out on Wednesday had late-night screenings of “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” earning $2.2 million at the North America box office, an amount distributor Sony calls “unprecedented” for a Tuesday in October.
By Wednesday afternoon, matinees of the film had doubled Tuesday night’s haul, according to Sony.
The film shows Jackson preparing for a marathon concert stand in London that was supposed to begin in July. But, the King of Pop died in June at age 50. His death has been ruled a homicide.
The stars came out for Tuesday evening’s big red carpet premiere in Los Angeles. Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, Paula Abdul, Jennifer Love Hewitt, the Jackson family and Neil Patrick Harris were among the celebs who braved wind gusts up to 36 mph to watch the film at Nokia Live.
