"This is more of a memorial than a movie," Bock told AFP. "I think we could be looking at $70 to $100m in the freshwater pearl bracelet first five days alone, which is extraordinary for this type of film.

The movie got a stamp of approval from Jackson's long-time friend and confidante, actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Taylor, who recently underwent heart surgery, hailed the movie as the "single most brilliant piece of film making I have ever seen" in a tweet on micro-blogging site Twitter.

"It cements forever Michael's genius in jewelry boxes every aspect of creativity."

Despite the anticipation surrounding the film, a group of diehard Jackson fans have launched an online campaign urging devotees of the singer to boycott the movie, claiming it hides the truth about his final days.

The group claims on its website - "This-Is-Not-It" - that the movie attempts to mask Jackson's physical frailty as he maintained a punishing schedule of rehearsals.

"In the weeks leading up to loose pearls Michael Jackson's death, while this footage was being shot, people around him knew that he looked like he might have died," the group said. "Those who stood to make a profit chose to ignore it."

Associates of Jackson have insisted the star was in good health during the rehearsals.