The Interview takes in $1 million despite threats

The controversial film at the heart of the Sony hacking scandal could have cost the distributor millions of dollars in lost revenue. But the decision to screen ‘The Interview’ has resulted in big bucks at the box office on its opening day.

Despite on-demand availability, crowds still flocked to theatres to catch showings of the film on Christmas Day.

According to Sony pictures, the film banked just over one million dollars in ticket sales from 331 locations, with many theatres reporting sold out showings. And the movie could potentially make a lot more money online. It was made available on Netflix, Google Play, Microsoft’s X-box video store, and a special Sony website called “see-the-interview-dot-com”, though online numbers have not been released. The Interview’s plot revolves around assassinating North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un. One sold-out screening of the film went wild when its star Seth Rogen made a surprise appearance: “We just really wanted to say ‘thank you’. If it wasn’t for theatres like this and for people like you guys, this literally would not be (expletive deleted) happening right now.”

Overseas, China is calling for “calm and restraint” following the Christmas Day release of despite threats from a computer hacking group.

The comment came Friday during a news conference in Beijing. China is North Korea’s only major ally, although Kim Jong-un is not a popular figure in the country. Sony backtracked this week from its original decision to cancel the release of ‘The Interview’ following threats of violence against theatres that showed the comedy. The U.S. blames the cyberattack on North Korea, but Pyongyang says it’s not responsible.

The Interview was actually filmed here in Canada, on the west coast in Vancouver. And while it’s now available online for Canadians to download, Sony has yet to announce when the film will be in Canadian theatres.