Michael Jackson: 'This Is It'

Sony Pictures has received two disappointing blows this week so far in their release of the Michael Jackson This Is It documentary. First, the film as so far generated much lower ticket sales than projected, garnering only $20.1 million so far of the $60 million investment made in the film. Second, Sony Pictures has pulled plans to release the film on DVD in time for the holiday shopping season due to protests from movie theater owners who feared the quick DVD release would damage ticket sales.

In spite of the less than blockbuster success expected for the film, there is some good buzz for Sony Pictures. Speculation This Is It might come away with more than a few award nominations, including an Oscar nod. Unfortunately the film was released too late to be nominated for the Best Documentary category, but it could still be eligible for other Oscar awards, including Best Picture.

This Is It director Kenny Ortega is not lending much weight to the Oscar speculation yet, however. “Awards, Oscars, that’s all great wishful thinking,” Ortega said, according to CBS news. More important for Ortega though was “telling a good story and creating a film for the fans, really enabling them to understand what Michael Jackson had dreamed for them.”