Sony’s controversial movie “The Interview” banked $1 million at the box office on Thursday, and it could make a couple million more over the long holiday weekend, CNN reported Friday.
“The audience reaction was fantastic — the limited release, in under 10% of the amount of theaters originally planned, featured numerous sellouts and a first-day gross over $1 million,” Sony Pictures worldwide distribution president Rory Bruer said in a statement.
Bruer nodded to the “incredibly challenging circumstances” around the release and said “we are extremely grateful to the people all over the country who came out to experience ‘The Interview’ on the first day” it was in theaters.
The comedy could potentially make a lot more money online, through $5.99 movie rentals and future sales to streaming services like Netflix, notes CNN.
Sony originally canceled the release of “The Interview” in up to 3,000 theaters, after hackers who broke into Sony’s computers threatened terrorist attacks against theaters that played the film, which deals with a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The company later backtracked on its cancellation of the movie, mostly over fierce backlash to the decision, including from President Barack Obama, who said the movie studio had made a mistake.
The FBI said Friday that Pyongyang was behind the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, which exposed Hollywood secrets, destroyed data and forced Sony to take its entire computer network offline.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)
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