The Interview
is far from being a must-see movie, but that didn’t stop plenty of viewers from renting or purchasing the controversial comedy online, after hackers forced Sony’s hand last month. Instead of enjoying a wide release on Christmas Day, the movie was only shown in select cinemas, though Sony also released it online with help of Microsoft, Google, Apple, and other digital content providers. After hitting 15 million in sales in the first days after launch, The Interview passed a second impressive milestone, raking in $31 million, according to CNN.
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After making $15 million from December 24th to December 27th, the movie brought in an additional 16 million from December 28th to January 4th. Of the $31 million it grossed so far, only $5 million came from offline purchases, with online sales being the real success for Sony.
The company on Tuesday revealed the movie was rented or purchased 4.3 million times since its online release on Christmas Day, making the movie the company’s “#1 online film of all time.”
The extra attention the movie received following the massive late November Sony Pictures hack paid off for the company, defying the wishes of the hackers responsible, who wanted to prevent the movie from being launched.
Sony is yet to recoup the costs related to making The Interview — the movie had a $44 million budget, and $35 million were spent on marketing — but the company still managed to bring in quite a lot of cash following the clash with hackers.
In addition to record online sales, The Interview also set record numbers when it comes to illegal downloads, according to recent reports.
