Unprecedented Number of Sell-Outs Reported Worldwide for First Showings of ‘Michael Jackson’s This Is It’

Highly Anticipated Motion Picture Generates Huge Demand Around the World
Online Ticket Services Report Hundreds Of Sold-Out Shows in First Day of North American Advance Sales
More Than $1 Million In Ticket Sales In Japan Alone
‘I’ve never seen anything like it in the 25 years I have been film buying,’ says UK Exhibitor

CULVER CITY, Calif., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ —
Sony Pictures Entertainment, in conjunction with Sony Music
Entertainment, today announced that the first 24-hours of pre-sales
activity for Michael Jackson’s This Is It has resulted in
record-breaking sales throughout the world as fans secure the first
tickets to the two-week, limited engagement of the highly-anticipated
motion picture.

With
reports still coming in from nations around the world, it is believed
no movie in history has generated so many ticket sales so far in
advance of its release.

In
North America, online ticket sellers Fandango and MovieTickets.com
report that there is extraordinary demand for the film with hundreds of
showtimes already sold out after one day of pre-sales. Some 80% of all
online ticketing service transactions were for the film, which will
debut in some markets with special advance showings the evening of
Tuesday, October 27 and will open worldwide on Wednesday, October 28.
The film is directed by long-time Jackson collaborator Kenny Ortega.

Domestically,
an unprecedented number of shows for the two-week engagement have sold
out in the first 24 hours of ticket availability in locations from
coast-to-coast, including such cities as Los Angeles, San Francisco,
Houston, Nashville and New York, among others. Internationally,
exhibitors from London and Sydney to Bangkok and Tokyo have experienced
the same epic demand.

In
London, Vue Entertainment’s Film Buying Director Stuart Boreman said
Michael Jackson’s This Is It sold more than 30,000 tickets in its first
24-hours, setting the biggest ever one-day sales record in the UK,
eclipsing advance buying for films including Harry Potter and The Lord
of the Rings. “I’ve never seen anything like it in the 25 years I have
been film buying,” Boreman said. “It’s a true phenomenon and sales show
no sign of slowing down.”

In
the United States, more than 500,000 fans performed searches for
showtimes on the official www.thisisit-movie.com website. Online buzz
for Michael Jackson’s This Is It was 60 percent higher Sunday than for
any other upcoming film.

Commenting
on the extraordinary results, Rory Bruer, President of Worldwide
Theatrical Distribution for Sony Picture Releasing said, “Michael
Jackson’s fans all over the globe have enormous interest in this film
and we can assure they will not be disappointed. This film delivers on
everything they hope and expect to see. I think the initial sales
activity we are seeing in the United States and United Kingdom to
countries such as Australia and Thailand underscores the unique nature
of this film, which is a special celebration of Michael and his music.”

In
Japan, more than $1 million in ticket sales were recorded within the
first 24 hours of their release, setting an advanced-sales record
unmatched by any movie in history.

Staggering
advance sales were reported in Australia, where tickets for Michael
Jackson’s This Is It purchased through Village Cinemas exceeded the
lifetime pre-sales of such blockbusters as Transformers, and X-Men
Origins.

In Bangkok,
Thailand, fans lined up at box office ticket counters throughout the
city, and by the end of the first day, all tickets for the first
showings across Bangkok were sold-out.

In
Los Angeles, at Regal Cinema’s LA LIVE Stadium 14, fans began lining up
on Thursday night for tickets to some of the city’s first public
showings, and within hours of Sunday morning’s starting bell for
advance pre-sales, the exhibitor reported selling out of all 3,000 of
their seats for shows on Tuesday night October 27th.

Sell-outs
at theaters in France are also being reported; thousands of fans lined
up at The Grand Rex in Paris and quickly bought out the film’s first
screening there. Record-setting sales also were recorded in Germany;
hundreds of fans lined up outside one theater in Munich at midnight to
await the opening of the box office. As one German exhibitor noted,
“Something like this never happened before in Germany.”

Record sales and sell-outs are also being reported in Holland, Sweden, Belgium and New Zealand, among other countries.

Moviegoers
worldwide can get information for the two-week limited engagement by
visiting www.thisisit-movie.com. For fans wishing to discover the
closest theater playing the film near their home in North America,
please call (877) 488-4258.

Michael
Jackson’s This Is It will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide
a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed,
created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken
place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the
months from March through June, 2009, the film is produced with the
full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than
one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson
rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given
a privileged and private look at Jackson as he has never been seen
before. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson’s This Is It captures
the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius, and great
artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show. Kenny Ortega,
who was both Michael Jackson’s creative partner and the director of the
stage show, is also directing the film, which is being produced by
Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware. Executive producers
are John Branca and John McClain. The film will be distributed
worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing. For more information about the
film please visit Sony
Music Entertainment’s Columbia/Epic Label Group will release a two-disc
album “This Is It” featuring music inspired by the motion picture. The
album will be available internationally on October 26th and in North
America on October 27th.

Sony Music Entertainment