'Michael Jackson's This Is It' was 'it' this week

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The concert film about the late Michael Jackson's comeback tour, This Is It, was a top box office hit in 2009, and in the first week released to the home video market, the DVD and Blu-ray Disc shot to number one in sales.

The film sold an estimated 1.2 million copies, according to Home Media Magazine market research. It claims to be the record for the first-week of a music film.

This Is It exceeded expectations in Japan where the film was also released last week. The publicity campaign included promoting a YouTube video of inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines, which generated more than three million hits.

This Is It debuted at number five on the rental chart, behind Surrogates, Whip It, Gamer, and Oscar nominee The Hurt Locker.

RC