The director, Kenny Ortega, confirmed that none of the footage was originally intended for release, but after Jackson's death, it was agreed that the film would be made.

[5] Tickets went on sale a month early on September 27 to satisfy a high anticipated demand; the film broke numerous pre-sale and box office records.

In August 2009, a judge approved a deal between Jackson's estate, concert promoter AEG Live, and Sony Pictures.

After short dialogues from various dancers, Kenny Ortega is heard talking through the original concert opening sequence involving a bodysuit made from screens that display fast clips and images with bright intensity from which Jackson emerges on stage.

During the dance sequence, puppets are suspended in the audience aisles while Jackson emerges from a robotic spider originally seen in the vignette.

Footage of Jackson and the band rehearsing "Black or White" is shown next, with guitarist Orianthi Panagaris finishing with a high guitar riff.

[21][22] The deal also included a merchandising agreement with Bravado International Group—the company is a division of Universal Music Group that is owned by Vivendi—so that they can distribute and sell "Jackson-themed products".

On September 10, 2009, it was reported that MTV's Video Music Awards, which at the time had already announced that they would honor Jackson at the show, would premiere the film's first, and only known, trailer.

[28] It was reported that Jackson had recorded the song for release with his planned summer tour but after his death, it was shelved until producers in Los Angeles remixed the vocals with an orchestral accompaniment.

[40][41] Jeff Labrecque of En commented, "Three months after Michael Jackson's death, I'm still surprised by the passion of his fans.

[48] It was also reported that the film had "accounted for some 80% of all online ticketing in the U.S. within its first 24 hours of sales, dominating presales compared with such upcoming titles as Avatar and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

[51] Sony announced in a press release that in the "last 24 hours [since September 27]", over 80% of all Fandango.com and Movietickets.com sales for the film, had already sold out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Nashville and New York, among others and: "Internationally, exhibitors from London and Sydney to Bangkok and Tokyo have experienced the same epic demand.

[60] Dick Westerling, head of marketing and advertising for Regal, stated that the film was selected due to its strong ticket sales.

"[64] On October 6, it was reported and confirmed by a Sony executive, that the film had been chosen to be one of the last of China's "20 annual foreign movie import slots".

In September 2009, AEG stated, based on the positive enthusiasm by fans for waiting in lines for days for tickets to the film, that they'd hoped that it was a sign that the public hadn't felt that they were exploiting Jackson after his death.

[69] Leiweke said: Some of the things that people have said about us, which are so untrue, this movie's going to restore his legacy, and prove that we, in fact, gave Michael a second chance here.

[71] In October 2009, Jackson's father, Joe, strongly insisted that the film "is mostly body doubles" and that "the media is going to tear this movie apart" because of it.

[72] However, Sony released a statement denying rumors that the film had rehearsal footage of Jackson body doubles, describing the story as "pure garbage".

[78] Shortly after the protest became news, The Guardian conducted a poll on their website asking users "What do you think of Michael Jackson's posthumous film Is This It?

[79] In the United States, This Is It finished first at the box office in its opening weekend with $23.2 million at 3,481 theaters—with a per-theater average of $6,675 over the period of five days.

[82] In the film's second weekend of wide release, it declined to 43.4%,[83] making $13.2 million, placing it at second at the box office, behind A Christmas Carol.

The site's general consensus is that "While it may not be the definitive concert film (or the insightful backstage look) some will hope for, Michael Jackson's This Is It packs more than enough entertainment value to live up to its ambitious title.

[99] "More important, however, is that we rarely witness Jackson giving 100%: He frequently comments that he is saving his voice and body for the actual performances.

Don't get me wrong: 60% of Michael Jackson is still a pretty good thing [...] [Jackson] the noted perfectionist, at work, correcting others' dance moves without missing a beat himself and giving notes, sometimes revelatory and other times inscrutable, to his music director and others" Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out New York referred to being a "must-see danceumentary".

[101] Rothkopf described Jackson as "obviously" having been "shooting for the moon right before his death" based on what he could tell from the "stunning bits of concert spectacle" of "phalanxes of computer-generated dancers, tempo changes on a dime, a bombshell of a blond guitarist who plays Eddie Van Halen's "Beat It" solo flawlessly".

[101] Rothkopf stated that: "But the true value of this raw rehearsal footage is its emphasis, less known, on MJ's laserlike attention to detail, as he works for his band and troupe up to speed.

But to see him sweetly lose himself in "Human Nature" ("I like living this way...") is to feel a creature of the stage finally returned home, and possibly on the cusp of redemption.

"[104] She noted that Jackson's "total lack of engagement with the cameras adds to the unreal mood" because he was always performing—"but for the imagined masses, not for the filmgoer" and that the film doesn't "entirely acknowledge that reality, and that's a little odd".

Off guard and probably unaware that it would ever be seen by the public, we find Jackson pushing his band and production team to the limit with demands to "let it sizzle" and "make the music simmer".

Obsessive Jacko fans may be shocked by his Diva-ish behavior as he complains about ear-pieces, but it's heartening to finally view the late singer as a rounded human with regular failings and imperfections.