Leading the charge is Prince’s “Purple Rain”, which returns at #17.Nielsen Music has also confirmed a whopping one million units were purchased by grieving fans and curious newcomers on Thursday April 21st, the day of his passing, alone.
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“Bring Purple Rain back to the big screen is a ideal way to honour the life of Prince”, says vice president of Event Cinema for Cineplex Entertainment Brad LaDouceur.
At least two McHenry County theaters are showing Prince’s “Purple Rain”, the 1984 quasi-autobiographical rock musical that became a cult classic.
A box-office hit despite earning mixed reviews from critics, the movie won an Oscar for best original song score, with the accompanying album – which featured the No. 1 hits When Doves Cry and the title track – becoming one of pop music’s most iconic records. Maddalena expects the jacket to fetch much more than the asking price, which sits between $6,000 and $8,000. “This is the first time ever for something like this, and it might be the only time because the rest of the costumes may be in [Prince’s personal] wardrobe”. “It seems like he controlled it all”, said Maddalena. Those weekend sales were up more than 16,000 percent from the previous weekend when about 2,500 albums were sold.
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That auction will also feature Michael Jackson’s sequined “Billie Jean” jacket that he wore during the HIStory tour of 1996, and his right-handed glove, studded with Swarovski crystals, from the Dangerous World Tour of 1992. But Lemonade overtook The Very Best Of Prince (Warner Bros.) with opening sales of 73,000, including 10,000 equivalent sales via streaming – 14 percent of its total.
