After a tumultuous couple of weeks prior to Christmas, THE INTERVIEW managed to gross just under $3 million on 331 screens. For a studio financed picture budgeted at over $40 million, that may not be such a spectacular number, but Sony is also reporting that the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy grossed $15 million via on demand services like Google Play and YouTube.
Again, when we talk about box office receipts, $15 million pales in comparison to the $100 million mark we often set as a gauge of success for movies, but this is a significant number for the future of movie releases. To date, a major Hollywood film has never been released day and date on streaming and digital platforms as well as in theaters. THE INTERVIEW represents a bizarre series of events that also caused people to buy or see the film as a political statement. This and other factors could have affected the number of people who rented or purchased the film. But, in the end, for a movie to make that much online versus in theaters is a game-changer.
As movie theaters have fought digital releasing, THE INTERVIEW represents a major win for digital releasing and one that could start a trend for movies in the future. Hollywood could easily see this as a viable way to release movies they believe would perform stronger via home media but still have higher budgets that warrant a theatrical release. At the very least, this may change the timeline for movies coming to Blu-ray or DVD compared to their theatrical release date. Hopefully this means more viewing options for fans who cannot always get to the theater on opening weekend.