Berlin - Fans in Germany and Switzerland cheered the documentary movie of the final days of Michael Jackson's life when it opened in Europe early Wednesday. Hundreds of Jackson lookalikes were in the audience at Berlin's Cinestar cinema where live coverage of the gala premiere in Los Angeles was shown.
When the movie, This Is It, finally hit the screen shortly after 2 am (0100 GMT), fans applauded throughout and sang along to some of the singer's most famous songs.
A few fans shed tears during director Kenny Ortega's the two-hour movie, which contained footage of Jackson's final concert rehearsals. It was made while the singer was preparing for a comeback tour.
"It's great that Michael Jackson was able to celebrate his comeback on the big screen. But I'm also sad that it's the last time we'll see him," said a 20-year-old fan in Berlin.
Jackson shocked the world when he died on June 25 from a drug overdose caused by an anaesthetic. His personal physician is now under investigation for injecting the drug.
In Switzerland, where the film opened at 3 am, some 400 fans attended a showing in Lausanne, and 750 saw it in Zurich.
"People applauded after each song, there was an excellent atmosphere," the director of the Lausanne theatre complex Teodor Teodorescu told the Swiss News Agency, which also reported sightings of local celebrities in the crowds.
The official premiere took place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, where Jackson's public memorial was held. Other premieres took place simultaneously in Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Hungary, South Korea, Norway, Peru, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay, Britain and New York City.
