Sony Pictures “The Interview” generated more than $15 million after it was released last Wednesday for online viewing, despite threats of cyber attacks.
The controversial comedy, starring Seth Rogen and is about a television host who gets an interview with Kim Jong Un and is later recruited by the CIA to assassinate the North Korean leader, has been rented or bough online more than two million times by Saturday, Sony said in its statement released on Sunday.
The title was available for online viewing on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsofts Xbox Video and the dedicated Sony website www.seetheinterview.com. The movie was also released on a limited number of theaters one day after its online debut, after the biggest US cinema chains said they will not screen “The Interview” amid threats of hacker violence.
According to movie market specialist Rentrak, the comedy generated around $2.8 million, including almost $1 million on Christmas Day, in box-office sales from the 331 theaters it was displayed in.
California-based Sony Pictures outlined that “The Interview” is already one of the most online viewed title ever. Apple also took part in the distribution, the movie was uploaded on the companys iTunes platform and was available for US and Canadian users, which paid $5.99 for rent and $14.99 to buy.
“The Interview” also marks the first big title to be released in the same time both online and in theaters, said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Rentrak, cited by Bloomberg. Usually similar actions are taken for smaller, independent movies which are not expected to secure enough viewers for a big theatrical release.
However, the dispute between North Korea and the US continues, on Saturday the Pyongyang’s highest decision-making body accused the US of sabotaging a number of North Korean major websites and also criticized the release of the movie.
“The U.S. is adding to its crimes by screening the movie ‘The Interview,’” Pyongyang said in a statement. “With no rhetoric can the U.S. justify the screening and distribution of the movie.”
The theatrical release did not experience any hacker problems. However, Sony PlayStation Network and Microsofts Xbox live were victimized again by a cyber attack later during the day of the release. The companies online services went dark and were not restored until December 27th and 26th, respectively. A hacker group that calls itself Lizard Squad claimed responsibility and said it was not targeting “The Interview” but rather it tried to outline major security problems in both platforms.
Sony Corp lost 0.25% on Friday, but gained 0.41% on Monday and closed at ¥2,561 in Tokyo, marking a one-year increase of 43.47%. The company is valued at ¥2.94 trillion. According to the Financial Times, the 17 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Sony Corp have a median target of ¥2 850, with a high estimate of ¥3 700 and a low estimate of ¥1 750.
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