James Franco, left, and Seth Rogan, right, stars of “The Interview” movie.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (NYSE:SNE) said “The Interview” earned over $15 million in online sales and another $2.8 million in theaters in the opening weekend. The return, while both expected and unexpected, almost wasn’t possible after the cyber attack the FBI publicly blamed on North Korea.
The dictatorial regime was furious the comedy depicted the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and DPRK-backed hackers had threatened a 9/11-style attack on theaters showing the release.
In the end, the movie made almost as much money through online distribution and in a limited theater release in its opening weekend as it would have in a wide release, which was cancelled after the threats.
The limited release turned out to be a big hit, seemingly turning Christmas Day into a day of national pride as scores of Americans flocked to theaters showing the film. The hackers’ plan appears to have backfired, with many of those attending a showing or renting the film stating they would not have otherwise.
The studio said on Sunday the film had been purchased or rented online more than 2 million times on the four days through Saturday, making it Sony Pictures’ No. 1 online movie of all time.
“That is a huge number,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations. “This is almost what it was going to do theatrically before it was pulled. It made about what people expected, but in a completely different way.”
