With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas Day release of “The Interview.”
U.S. officials have reportedly linked a massive cyber attack against
Sony to North Korea, which is at the center of the Seth Rogen-James
Franco comedy.
“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the
distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company,
our employees, and the American public,” Sony said in a statement. “We
stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are
extremely disappointed by this outcome.”
In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony also hit
back at the hackers who threatened movie theaters and moviegoers and
who have terrorized the studio and its employees for weeks.
“Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private
emails and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our
spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie
they did not like,” the statement reads.
A few hours after making the announcent, a studio spokesman said that
Sony had “no further plans” to release the comedy, either on VOD or
DVD.
“The Interview” centers on a hapless television host who is recruited
to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. The country has
condemned the film and some cyber-security experts believe that it
played a role in the hacking attack on the studio. North Korea has
denied involvement in the attacks.
Rogen and Franco star in the picture, which cost $42 million to produce.
Sony has been reeling for weeks since hackers broke into the studio’s
computer system in November and stole internal documents, email
messages, film budgets, spreadsheets detailing top executive salaries
and the social security numbers of thousands of employees. The documents
and records were subsequently leaked online, setting off a firestorm of
media coverage.
Tuesday’s message accompanied another data dump. It threatened
violence on theaters that showed “The Interview” and people who attend
screenings.
“The world will be full of fear,” the message reads. “Remember the
11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from
the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.)”
In response, exhibition industry lobbying arm the National
Association of Theatre Owners said its members must decide individually
whether to release the picture and Sony said it would respect theater
owners’ decision not to exhibit “The Interview.” That set off a cascade
of cancellations.
The bulk of the country’s 10 largest theater chains — a group that
includes AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Carmike and Southern Theatres — announced
they would delay showing the picture or would drop it altogether. In
statements, many of the theater chains suggested that Sony’s lack of
confidence in the film prompted their decision.
Regal, for instance, said its decision was “due to the wavering
support of the film ‘The Interview’ by Sony Pictures, as well as the
ambiguous nature of any real or perceived security threats.”
Sony was more conciliatory even as it said exhibitor defections motivated its decision.
“We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course,
completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and
theatergoers,” the studio’s statement read.
Bruce Nash, founder of box office site TheNumbers, said that
Christmas is one of the busiest times of year for moviegoing and is
particularly strong for family films. Any perceived danger or threat
might have depressed ticket sales.
“It was never going to be one of the big films of Christmas and
clearly chains are going to be concerned about making sure people feel
comfortable bringing their children to ‘Annie,’ ‘Into the Woods’ or
‘Night at the Museum,” said Nash.
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