Movie News & Gossip

NEW YORK - "Michael Jackson's This Is It," a film about the King of Pop's final rehearsals before his death, will be released on DVD on Jan. 26, 2010.

The DVD release was announced Monday by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It" will be released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on January 26.

Sony's "This Is It" has rung up $71 million in domestic box office since bowing in theaters October 28, and the studio's plans for its home-video release have been the subject of considerable speculation.

GSTAAD, Switzerland - After two months in a Swiss jail, Roman Polanski prepared Thursday for the splendid captivity of his $1.6 million chalet in one of world's most luxurious winter resorts.

Polanski will have views of snowcapped Alpine peaks, spacious rooms and the all the amenities of a town with a reputation for catering to the wishes of the rich and famous.

LOS ANGELES - The vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" put the box office into orbit with a $142.8 million opening weekend. The sequel took in twice as much as "Twilight" in its first three days a year ago.

It was the third-best opening weekend ever.

LOS ANGELES - Disaster hammered the weekend box office as the doomsday epic "2012" debuted at No. 1 with $65.2 million domestically and pulled in $230.4 million worldwide.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com are:

LOS ANGELES - Doom spelled dollars at the box office as the global-disaster tale "2012" opened at No. 1 domestically with $65 million and pulled in $225 million worldwide.

The Sony Pictures action saga tells the story of a scramble to save remnants of humanity aboard giant arks as the earth's crust shifts and flood waters pour over most of the planet. With a cast led by John Cusack, Danny Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor, "2012" was directed by doomsday specialist Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow").

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Disaster swept the world during the weekend as the apocalyptic movie "2012" registered the biggest opening for a non-franchise movie.

The latest calamity epic from "Independence Day" director Roland Emmerich sold $225 million worth of tickets globally, distributor Columbia Pictures said on Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's concert movie "This Is It" has taken more than $200 million at box offices worldwide in the first two weeks of release, the studio behind the movie said on Thursday.

Sony Pictures Entertainment said the movie had grossed $61 million in North America and more than $140 million internationally. Japan ($27.2 million) and the UK ($14.3 million) were particularly strong markets.