Sony sees costs recouped on ‘Interview’ after hacking, threats

LOS ANGELES: The Interview, the comedy that Sony Pictures temporarily pulled from cinemas, is doing well enough from online sales and rentals to recoup the millions of dollars spent on the film, a person close to the studio said.

Most of the $36 million in sales through January 6 have come online.

The studio, part of Tokyo-based Sony, keeps 70 percent to 80 percent of those purchases, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private financial data.

The Interview also is being released in cinemas internationally. Plans are under way for a DVD and subscription streaming, CEO Michael Lynton said in an interview.

The online release isn’t a model for the future, he said, labelling it “an exception.” Fans packing the few cinemas that showed the film reaffirmed Lynton’s confidence in the current theatrical model, where a movie opens on the big screen and then goes to home video.

“The theatres that did carry the picture were completely full even though people could have gotten it at home,” Lynton said. “It’s a comedy, and people wanted to watch it together.”

After Sony concluded The Interview would not get a full theatrical release, the Culver City, California- based studio cut its spending on marketing, according to the person. That reduced the total cost to about $60m, the person said.

Sony charged a low price of $5.99 for the pay-per-view and $14.99 for purchase. “It became a first amendment issue,” he said. “It didn’t feel appropriate to gouge the American public on price.”

Analysts had estimated Sony spent $80m making and marketing The Interview, a farcical Seth Rogen comedy about a fictional plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. That included $44m in production costs, according to e-mails released by hackers who attacked the company’s computers.

The studio released The Interview in 331 cinemas on Christmas Day, and expanded to more than 580 on January 2. The largest chains pulled the picture from their schedules after threats of violence from hackers.

Sony Pictures cobbled together an alliance of partners, including Google and Microsoft. Google was the first company to offer to host the film, according to Lynton. “Google was the only one who felt good enough about their security to do so,” Lynton said. – Washington Post

NOT CLEANING UP: Analysts estimated Sony spent $80 million making and marketing PICTURE: AP