Wow, the level of denial is strong in this thread.
First, the sales of the "Michael" album WERE disappointing to Sony, as in evidenced by the fact that they shipped 5 million copies, and sold 2.5. The first single barely cracked the Top 40, and no other singles were released. So it underperformed.
Why did it underperform? It pleases the anti-Cascio people to think it's because of those 3 songs, because it validates their opinion that "the people" or "the fans" agree with their position that the songs are fake, and they like to think the Cascios/Sony/the Estate were thus "punished" for their sin of releasing the tracks. But there aren't that many hard-core MJ fans left in the world (they are obviously over-represented on MJ forums), not all of them (despite what the anti-Cascio people like to think) think the songs are fake, and even among those that do think so, many still bought the album. So there's no way that controversy -- which to the general public was a 2-day media item that was just more craziness from the Jackson world -- explains why the album missed expectations by 2.5 million copies.
So WHY did it underperform? I think it's quite simple : by December 2010, the MJ love-in that followed his death was already dying down. If the album had come out in the months following his death, it might have sold more. Of course, some people -- maybe in the tens of thousands -- boycotted the album because of the many reasons cited before, including the Cascio controversy, but not to the extent of 2.5 million copies.
Regarding Bad 25 now. It is not just a flop, it is a HUGE flop. Of course it is a re-release, and must be treated as such. But if I'd told anybody here a few months ago, "you know, that Bad 25 release will only sell 27 000 copies in its first week in the US", you would have all called me crazy. It's not just the regular album : you get a live CD -- the first MJ live CD ever! --, a live DVD, 6 new songs, 3 remixes, etc. You're telling me you're not heartbroken this only sold 27,000 copies?
Of course, maybe the Spike Lee film will spur sales, but I'll go as far as say that ABC would not even have bought the movie if they had known the sales of the album would be so low. I'm pretty sure the Estate didn't not sell ABC on buying the movie by telling them the album would sell 27.000 copies.