I’ve told you that “The Interview” was a bust despite all kinds of “expert” opinions. The Seth Rogen-James Franco-Kim Jong Un comedy reportedly cost $42 million, plus a lot of bruised egos. At the box office it comes in at $6 million– a hard number. Sony said it brought in $31 million on video platforms, but no one really knows. Plus a lot of people who “rented” on the Sony website also were able to keep the film forever.
Now Patrick Corcoran, Vice President & Chief Communications Officer for the National Association of Theatre Owners says “The Interview” will lose $30 million for Sony. Corcoran rightly observes that “The Interview” was a momentary novelty. He writes: “What was a bit surprising was the fact that The Interview’s VOD revenues decreased after its opening four days, despite being available on enormously more outlets when it expanded to iTunes and cable VOD platforms around the country. The movie took in $15 million in its first four days. It took in $16 million in the next seven.”
And pretty much nothing after that. “The Interview” raised awareness of VOD and alternate ways of seeing movies. But it also served to undermine the movie business in a big way, much the way digital platforms destroyed book and record stores. It could be the death knell for movie theaters, too. Corcoran is right to sound a danger alarm.
Read his column here: http://pro.boxoffice.com/latest-news/2015-01-16-the-imitation-game-the-interviews-simultaneous-release-doesnt-change-anything
