Fans flocked to movie theaters this weekend to remember the King of Pop and see his last moments, as played out on the big screen in This Is It.
The documentary, which includes rehearsal footage of Michael Jackson, 51, prepping for his ill-fated "This Is It" London concert tour at Los Angeles' Staples Center just hours before he died of cardiac arrest, was so well received in its first five days that distributor Sony has extended the film's run until Thanksgiving.
Directed by High School Musical's Kenny Ortega, the concert exceeded even Sony's expectations, earning $2.2 million on opening night.
"The numbers are incredible, and we got some of the highest exit polls we've ever seen," Sony worldwide prexy of distribution Rory Bruer said. "It goes far beyond being a concert movie. Kenny Ortega created a film that is compelling and exciting and an incredible tribute to the King of Pop."
Look back at photos of Michael Jackson through the years.
The concert film narrowly beat out Miley Cyrus' Hannah Montana: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which earned $31.1 million in its opening weekend compared to This Is It's take of $32.5 million.
Us Weekly's senior movie editor Bradley Jacobs gave the film four stars, writing that "it's a highly charged, personal and captivating peek at the last few weeks of a man who certainly didn't look close to death."
