Before Tuesday's midnight opening of the Michael Jackson rehearsal film 'This Is It,' some box office experts were suggesting that its five-day sales would surpass the non-summer, non-holiday record of $83.8 million set by Mel Gibson's 2004 'The Passion of the Christ.'

But with the results in for opening day, it's clear that the King of Pop is no match for the King of Kings. Before Tuesday's midnight opening of the Michael Jackson rehearsal film 'This Is It,' some box office experts were suggesting that its five-day sales would surpass the non-summer, non-holiday record of $83.8 million set by Mel Gibson's 2004 'The Passion of the Christ.'

But with the results in for opening day, it's clear that the King of Pop is no match for the King of Kings.

After setting a record for a midnight, mid-week release with $2.2 million in ticket sales, traffic slowed down outside the more than 3,400 theaters playing 'This Is It' and its distributor, Sony Pictures, announced today that its opening day total in the U.S. and Canada was just $7.4 million. In about the same number of theaters, 'Passion of the Christ' grossed $26.6 million on its opening day.

For 'This Is It' to be competing with 'Passion of the Christ' is more than coincidence. The movies have much in common. Both are about iconic figures with untold legions of fans, both opened without precedent (there were simply no previous movies like them) and both arrived on a riptide of expectation.

'Passion' was met by claims that it was both anti-Semitic and exploitive of Christ's suffering. 'This Is It' was preceded by criticism that it was a ghoulish rush to exploit Jackson's death and that it was an attempt to further bury the memory of the pop star's bizarre lifestyle and dubious relationships with children.

The big difference in their box office performance is that Christian churches welcomed 'Passion' as a five-day religious calling, packing theaters every day, perhaps twice on Sunday. Jackson's faithful are in school or at work during weekdays, leaving them to stand on line in the evenings and on the weekend. With Saturday being Halloween, typically a slow day at theaters, Sunday is the 'This Is It' day for the opening week.

Even with a sold-out 3,400 theaters on Sunday, the film will do well to top $50 million for the five-day opening. That's not a bad number for a concert film, and it will still make Sony very happy for its $60 million investment in rehearsal footage.

And the eventual DVD release, the permanent record of the last act of the King of Pop, will no doubt be huge.

Check out Moviefone's 'This Is It' Coverage:
Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' Reviews
'Michael Jackson's This Is It' Movie Reactions: What Did Fans Think?
Michael Jackson Doc Sets New Box Office Record
'This Is It' showtimes and tickets
'This Is It' trailer in HD
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