Thriller (Michael Jackson album) and John Landis. Funded by MTV, the film sold over 350,000 copies in its first few months. In a market then driven by singles, "Thriller" raised the significance of albums, yet its multiple hit singles changed perceived notions as to the number of successful singles that could be taken from an individual album. The era saw the arrival of novelties like the Michael Jackson doll, that appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12 (US$ in dollars). "Thriller" retains a position in American culture; biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli explains, "At some point, "Thriller" stopped selling like a
Poltergeist (1982 film) making it the highest-grossing horror film of 1982 and eighth overall for the year. The film was well received by critics and is considered by many as a classic of the horror genre as well as one of the best films of 1982. It holds an approval rating of 86% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 59 reviews, with a consensus that reads: "Smartly filmed, tightly scripted, and—most importantly—consistently frightening, Poltergeist is a modern horror classic." Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four and called it "an effective thriller, not so much because of the special