THE KING OF POP DEFIES RECESSION

       Amidthe current economic downturn, one thing apparently can still sell like hot cakes: CDs of the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
       His movie and CD may generate as much as US$400 million (Bt13.3 billion) in sales worldwide as fans turn out to see and hear the last live performances by the great entertainer.
       "Michael Jackson's This Is It" album, featuring one new song, went on sale yesterday. The movie with the same title opens tomorrow in more than 90 countries, including 3,400 theatres in the US, Bloomberg quoted Hollywood.com Box-Office as saying.
       More than 1,000 US shows were sold out as of October 22, according to the online ticket vendor Fandango.com. Cinemas in London, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo also reported sell-outs, according to Sony, which is releasing the film and the album. In the UK, sales toppoed those of "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" at the Vue Entertainment chain.
       "It's a true phenomenon," said Tim Richards, chief executive officer of London-based Vue, whose cinema near the 02 Arena, where Jackson was scheduled to perform a series of comeback concerts, is among those that sold out.
       Jackson's work may be prized more after his death than it was in life, said Robert Sillerman, CEO of CKX, the New York-based operator of Graceland, Elvis Presley's Tennessee home, and co-producer of "American Idol".
       "In death, people remember the best of somebody," Sillerman said. "Certainly that is turning out to be the case with Elvis and the Beatles. I think it will turn out to be the case in Michael's situation."
       Jackson died at age 50 on June 25 in Los Angeles of a drug overdose, three weeks before he was to perform in concerts.
       The film may generate $300 million to $400 million in global ticket sales, said Jeff Bock, a box-office analyst for Los Angeles-based researcher Exhibitor Relations. US sales in the first five days may be $55 million to $60 million, said Jeffrey Hartke, an analyst with Los Angeles-based Hollywood Stock Exchange, which forecasts film performance.
       The two-disc album, with the new track "This is It", as well as "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal" and "Thriller", may sell 200,000 to 500,000 copies in the US, according to Silvio Pietroluongo, director of sales charts at Billboard magazine.