Jason Best of Cincinnati, Ohio just wanted to make some money off of The Interview‘s highly publicized release. To do so, he bought 50 tickets for a total of $650. At $13 per ticket, all Best had to do was charge a few extra bucks each and BAM – money made. Unfortunately, Sony’s plans for simultaneous traditional and digital releases rendered the scheme void.
According to Deadline:
The only problem? Distributor Sony subsequently also made deals to offer the film online through a number of online outlets (Sony just announced the film generated more than $15 million in four days on those outlets). And online rentals on those sites cost less than half the theater ticket, at only $5.99 (you can own a download of the film for $14.99).
So much for controlling exclusive access in Cincinnati to the film. Best, who thought he could return the tickets for a refund when his market bottomed out, is getting pushback from the theater, which says he’s trying to get paid for a scalping scheme that went awry….The theater offered to donate the $650 to charity, but Best says he can’t afford that and wants the money back.
Honestly, if he couldn’t afford the loss then he probably shouldn’t have made the investment to begin with. I still think Best should take the high ground and let the theater donate the money to charity. Then The Interview, an otherwise unremarkable film, would have actually done something good.
Source: Deadline
