Thursday, March 28, 2024

Cyber Terrorists Will Win: Sony Without “The Interview” Will Have No Holiday Season

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A couple of years ago, Sony had a James FrancoSeth Rogen movie called “This is the End.” Now that title is coming true. When Sony inevitably pulls the plug on the Rogen-Franco movie “The Interview,” it will have a domino effect through the company. (BowTie theaters are the latest to say they won’t show it, virtually guaranteeing no run.)

Without “The Interview,” Sony has no holiday season. Their other big release, a remake of “Annie,” has terrible reviews and worse word of mouth. The only upside is that it’s the only movie for kids. But even they may not want to see it.

Sony hasn’t had a great year. They had only three movies cross the $100 mil mark— “The Amazing Spider Man 2,” “22 Jump Street,” and “The Equalizer.” Brad Pitt’s “Fury” is only around $84 mil, and that’s pretty much it. Nothing else really worked, and they handed “Foxcatcher,” their one shot at an Oscar, to Sony Pictures Classics. As it is, “Foxcatcher” is not catching on the way everyone hoped despite rave reviews. George Clooney’s “Monuments Men” was a big disappointment. On the bright side, Sony released “Heaven is for Real,” a faith based movie no one in LA or New York ever saw, and it grossed $91 million.

If “The Interview” had been a smash hit comedy, that might have helped. But even without the controversy and inevitable postponement, “The Interview” is getting reviews that would have killed it anyway. If “Annie” breaks even there will be a sigh of relief. But again, word of mouth and reviews are negative.

The problem is, there’s not much on the horizon. There’s “Mall Cop 2” and a Neill Blomkamp sci-fi adventure called “Chappie” with Hugh Jackman coming in March. Sony is literally waiting all year for Bond 24, “Spectre,” to give them a major boost. By the time James Bond mixes that martini, many major players in this game may be history.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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