The Interview has Generated over $15 Million in Online Revenue

Sony has announced that the The Interview has been downloaded or rented online more than 2 million times generating more than $15 million in sales. The downloads dont include the number of downloads from P2P or Bittorrent sites which saw The Interview shared more than 1.5 million times. The movie was shown in 331 mostly independent theaters on Christmas Day which helped it generate more than $1 million. The original plan was for Sony to release the movie on about 3,000 screens, but North Korean hackers targeted the company forcing the company to retreat from their original release plans. Releasing the movie online is a major accomplishment if you consider Sony originally cancelled any release whatsoever from being seen. Many will be watching if the final sales numbers to see if Sony Studios can recoup the $44 million it cost to make the film, not including the $30-$40 million in advertisement and promotion.

From Sonys announcement:

Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced the total number of online rentals and purchases for The Interview through the first four days of the holiday weekend.

Through Saturday, December 27, including all of its online distribution platforms, The Interview has been rented or purchased online more than 2 million times. Total consumer spending through Saturday for The Interview online is over $15 million.

In addition to the strong turnout for its limited theatrical release over the holiday weekend, after only four days, The Interview already ranks as Sony Pictures #1 online film of all time.

The Interview was made available online across the United States at 10AM PST on Christmas Eve to rent in HD on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsofts Xbox Video and the dedicated website www.seetheinterview.com at a price of $5.99. The film was also available for purchase in HD for $14.99. Online distribution was expanded to Canada through Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsofts Xbox Video starting later that afternoon.