Sony’s ‘The Interview’ takes in $1M on Christmas day

(Updated 1:57 p.m.)

LOS ANGELES – Sony Pictures said “The Interview” took in almost $1 million in ticket sales on Christmas Day, as the comedy filled U.S. theaters in limited release without incident following promised threats of violence.

Locally, Cable Car Cinema in Providence is showing “The Interview,” and it will be featured until Dec. 31. Tonight’s 7:30 p.m. show is sold out, but tickets to the 10 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. shows are still available, according to the cinema’s website.

The owner of Cable Car Cinema said he believed strongly that his theater should show the controversial comedy to make a stand that no one should dictate what people can or cannot see.
“We live in a democracy where hopefully freedom of expression and freedom of speech still matter,” Daniel J. Kamil, who owns the theater with his wife Emily Steffian, said Friday.
Kamil, who said he has seen the film, described it as not his “cup of tea” and “not something we would normally program.”
“It’s a Seth Rogen/James Franco buddy movie that is really silly,” Kamil said.
Kamil said that for the most part, people seem pleased that the cinema will show the film. He said a Sony representative thanked him for running the movie, and divulged that her personal information had been leaked on the Internet as a result of the hack.
The Providence Police were notified that the Cable Car is showing the movie, and will have a presence at the cinema, Kamil said.

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The movie also will be shown at Route 1 Cinema-Pub in North Attleboro. Next week, it will be featured at Cinemaworld in Lincoln.

The movie, which opened in more than 300 locations, was also available for rent and purchase at Google Play and other websites. It topped the charts of two online marketplaces, Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox video store and YouTube’s movie store.

Filmgoers made a point to see “The Interview” on the big screen after major cinema chains dropped the movie because computer hackers linked by the FBI to North Korea threatened to attack theaters that showed it. Sony released the film to independent theaters after drawing criticism from President Barack Obama to the Republican National Committee over its initial decision to shelve the Dec. 25 debut.

“Considering the incredibly challenging circumstances, we are extremely grateful to the people all over the country who came out to experience ‘The Interview’ on the first day of its unconventional release,” Rory Bruer, president worldwide distribution for Sony Pictures, said in an e-mail.

Hackers last month broke into Sony’s computer systems, releasing contracts, e-mails and other confidential data onto the Internet. The cyber-terrorists condemned the movie, a farcical comedy about a a plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. That country denied it was behind the attack.

Sony announced on Dec. 24 that the Seth Rogen film would be available for rent and purchase at Google Play and other websites at a price of $5.99 to rent or $14.99 to buy, in addition to limited release in independent theaters.

Financial performance

Yesterday Hackers hit Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Sony’s PlayStation Network, Internet services that video gamers use to play online. A group called Lizard Squad claimed responsibility. Both PlayStation and Xbox acknowledged the problems from corporate Twitter accounts.

“Our engineers are continuing to work hard to resolve the network issues users have experienced today,” AskPlayStation posted. “Thanks for your continued patience!”

The movie’s financial performance will test whether a broad studio comedy can succeed when released online and in theaters at the same time. The studio spent an estimated $80 million making and marketing the film, according to Wade Holden, an analyst at Kagan Research.

In other Christmas releases, Walt Disney Co. said “Into The Woods” took in $15.1 million in ticket sales in about 2,440 theaters.

The online release of “The Interview” also exposed the film to intellectual property pirates. The website Torrent Freak reported the movie has been downloaded more than 750,000 times since its appearance online. Sony didn’t comment on the piracy and hasn’t announced plans to release the film overseas.

Web editor Lori Stabile contributed to this report.

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