The National Association of Theater Owners revealed late last week that Sony lost roughly $30 million on The Interview.
After remaining tight-lipped on Sony’s total losses, the group also revealed that the film’s digital on-demand distribution model does not mark a significant shift in the way Americans will consume feature films.
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“The cobbled-together simultaneous release of Sony’s The Interview is a Rorschach test. What you see generally tells more about you than it does about the release model of The Interview,” Patrick Corcoran, vice president of NATO, told The Hollywood Reporter. “Those inclined to believe that simultaneous theatrical and home release is an inevitable point to its $31 million home tally and $5.9 million theatrical take and see a ‘game changer.’ Some, like me, see a blot.”
According to The Reporter, the film has earned $5.9 million in theaters and $31 million through video-on-demand since opening on December 25th. The Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy was pulled from major theaters last month when North Korean hackers made hostile threats against anyone who saw or screened the film. This prompted Sony to pull The Interview from major movie theaters like Regal, AMC, and Cinemark, who were reported to be quite upset with the studio’s decision. Sony then pulled a last-minute reversal and released the film on its regular opening day to a select number of theaters, while also releasing it through on-demand digital platforms.
According to The Reporter, The Interview cost around $44 million to make and at least $30 million to market. While digital sales numbers haven’t been released since January 4th, Corcoran said he hopes that the next batch of numbers will bring The Interview‘s total earnings to $50 million.
The Interview hits Blu-Ray and DVD on February 17th.
