Four months after Jackson’s sudden death, red carpets were rolled out for 18 simultaneous premieres on five continents for the film, which was culled from footage of rehearsals for the singer’s aborted comeback.
More than 100 hours of behind-the-scenes footage for Jackson’s to the stage have been distilled into a two-hour film, which has been hyped by organizers as the last-ever performance by the “King of Pop.”
Crowds gathered at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles for a 6pm (0100 GMT Wednesday) premiere, while similar events were to be held in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
Around 300 lucky fans – all issued replicas of Jackson’s signature solitary sequined white glove – were allowed into bleachers to watch the arrivals procession.
Advance tickets in several countries sold out within days of going on sale last month as fans scrambled to be among the first to see a film billed by Sony Pictures as the movie of “a concert that never happened.”
Jackson, who died on June 25 aged 50, had spent the previous four months rehearsing in Los Angeles for a gruelling series of 50 concert spectaculars scheduled to begin at London’s 02 Arena in July.
Jackson was putting the finishing touches to the show at the time of his death, which authorities have ruled a homicide after coroners revealed that he had a lethal cocktail of six different drugs in his body.
Video footage from the rehearsals had been intended to help organisers critique the show and was never intended for public viewing. Sony bought the footage for $60m after executives saw only several minutes.
Analyst Jeff Bock of box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations said This Is It could “play bigger than Elvis.”
“This is more of a memorial than a movie,” Bock said. “I think we could be looking at $70 to $100 million in the first five days alone, which is extraordinary for this type of film.”
The movie got a stamp of approval from Jackson’s long-time friend and confidante, actress Elizabeth Taylor, who was privy to a sneak preview.
Taylor, who recently underwent heart surgery, hailed the movie as the “single most brilliant piece of filmmaking I have ever seen” in a tweet on micro-blogging site Twitter.
“It cements forever Michael’s genius in every aspect of creativity.”
Opening in 99 countries on Tuesday and Wednesday, the film expands to 110 territories by this weekend.
