The Plaza Theater in Atlanta, Georgia was the first to confirm Christmas Day screenings.
Update: The Wrap is now reporting that Sony Pictures will release The Interview via Video On Demand on Christmas as well. While specific partners are not named in the report, The Wrap did confirm that it will not be exclusive to Dish Network, as previously rumored. As VOD is a fairly generic term, any number of cable providers could be in on the deal — Comcast, Verizon, etc.
This means The Interview would see a simultaneous release in theaters as well as VOD, although it’s yet to be seen if any major movie theater chain will pick up the Sony comedy.
Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton has also released s statement on the release. “We have never given up on releasing The Interview, and we’re excited our movie will be in a number of theaters Christmas Day,” says Lynton. “At the same time we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.”
Original Story: News has just broke that several theaters will be screening The Interview on Christmas Day. THR got the scoop, as Sony Pictures has seemingly done a near-complete course correction after cancelling the James Franco and Seth Rogen comedy late last week.
The first theater to confirm its own screenings was the Plaza Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by the Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas, Texas (as well as their location in Kansas City, MO). Both theaters are screening The Interview with permission from Sony, and Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League confirmed as much on Twitter.
Neither the Alamo Drafthouse nor the Plaza Theater are part of “Big Five” movie theater chains (AMC, Regal, etc.) which ties into the narrative set forth last week. Sony Pictures cancelled the release of The Interview only after the five largest movie theater companies in the United States said they wouldn’t screen the film, citing safety concerns.
The cancellations were official on Thursday…but of course plenty can happen within five days. The FBI officially accused North Korea of the Sony Pictures hack, followed by President Obama’s thoughts on the matter — Sony cancelling The Interview being a mistake, specifically. North Korea has denied any involvement in the hack, but that hasn’t stopped one or several groups of hacktivists from shutting down the country’s Internet access.
If you’re in the DFW metroplex area, and you want a screening of The Interview to be in your future? You can buy tickets here.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
