Going to the movies (or watching them at home) this Christmas received a robust injection of excitement thanks to The Interview. Yet even with a spectacular a spectacular $31 million in video on demand sales, James Franco and Seth Rogen’s bouncing baby of political satire is still very much in the red.
Despite widespread predictions of a new business model, [National Association of Theater Owners] VP Patrick Corcoran also said the movie’s day-and-date release in theaters and on VOD is not a game-changer.
In a column titled “The Imitation Game: The Interview’s Simultaneous Release Doesn’t Change Anything” for Box Office magazine, Corcoran dismissed “starry-eyed” comments of a paradigm shift. Box Office is an official NATO publication.
“In this simultaneous-release game, Sony is $30 million in the hole and almost out of cards,” he said. “The only game changed here was just how much Sony left on the table.” (Via Variety)
In a possible preemptive strike against naysayers, Sony plans to release DVD and Blu-ray editions of the film on February 17.
The Blu-ray version, which is being marketed as the “Freedom Edition,” will have a suggested list price of $19.99, while the DVD will carry a suggested list price of $14.99. (Via Variety)
Even so, the financial future of the infamous film doesn’t look so good. That’s probably because it lacks the profits it otherwise would have enjoyed from the thousands of theaters that chose not to release it.
(Via Variety)
