Sony: This Is [Not] It

This Is It, the concert film salvaged from Michael Jackson's rehearsal footage, made $101 million since its opening on Wednesday. The film, released by Sony in partnership with Denver-based billionaire Philip Anschutz, earned $32.5 million in the U.S. and $68.5 million internationally, and has prompted Sony to extend the film's initial two week run.

The Wall Street Journal's Lauren A.E. Schuker quoted Rory Bruer, Sony Picture's head of worldwide distribution, saying, the film would be extended "territory by territory."

"We put a lot of love and hard work into this picture," Bruer said.

He may have actually been referring to money and marketing: Sony acquired the footage of Jackson's rehearsals from Anschutz for $60 million and Reuters' Ray Waddell quoted AEG Live's Randy Philips boasting "The first marketing meeting I had at Sony Pictures, there were about 40 people in this conference room, and what blew my mind was the fact that this little movie, this HD footage of Michael Jackson, was getting the attention of a whole studio. They just absolutely stopped [everything] to focus on this project."

Of course, not everyone believes that Sony intended to keep the film in theaters for only two weeks, or that the studio changed its mind because of "love." Deadline Hollywood's Nikki Finke didn't mince any words in her post headlined CON ARTISTS! Sony Extends 2-Week Limited Run Of Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' Through Thanksgiving. (Memo to Finke: "Smooth Criminals" would've scanned better.)

Writes Finke, "Today the Hollywood marketing tactic of creating artificial demand for "2-week limited engagement" movies officially went into the crapper. And I doubt that audiences will allow themselves to be conned again by this tacky studio maneuver to drive up advance ticket sales."

Maybe. But it really only had to work this once.