Sony streams 'The Interview' online and makes Hollywood history

originally posted by: Cambot

originally posted by: deadeyedick

WELCOME to net neutrality!

GOODBYE networks.

Huh? We've been living with net neutrality for quite some time. If anything this is a threat to net neutrality.

I just see it as a way to start changing the way we get our information. The movie theaters are a big block in the entertainment industery and now in 2015 i bet we see many of them closing because more and more will be done online. It just gives more control to L3 and such. The bar is set now and more and more tv providers will fall by the wayside. There is a war going on between mainstream hollywood and the internet.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Just an evolution on the old direct-to-DVD formula for the bad movies that won't sell...

The reason they don't do online movie premiere's is because it makes it easier for pirates to record and distribute and harm sales. In theaters its more difficult for pirates to record and distribute, the release is more controlled, and they make more money.

They probably took a huge loss releasing it online. However, people need to get paid their share of the investment they made into the movie, so they released it when they said they would to get their money back.

Its free on Youtube right now.

a reply to: Bloodydagger

No, on youtube you have to pay for it. Unless you are talking about the pirated version, which then I'll say, case in point.

originally posted by: Blackmarketeer
Am I the only one that doesn't think this was all a big marketing ploy? Sony went from a typical opening release of 3000+ theaters to less than 100, and it will not likely see a lot of buyers for it's online version, before it ends up in the straight-to-DVD category. All Sony has done in this process is alienate all the major theater chains, dissed those independent theaters it did release to, and demonstrate how spineless they are in the face of adversity. Personally I hope Sony all the worst, so the studio goes bankrupt, and the rights to Spiderman can be sold back to Marvel Studios so we can finally get a proper Avengers movie.

Of course it was not a marketing ploy. Between the hack, leaked emails, loss of a massive release on one of the biggests weekends of the year Sony is losing well over a hundred million on this. The long term damage done to Sony pictures may indeed end its existance.

a reply to: MrSpad

If their existence relies on one (or maybe the one plus the few others they claim were stolen in the hack) movie, and a pretty pathetic one at that, then maybe they don't need to be in existence.

Like I said before, this is and always has been a PR stunt, likely backed by the State Department and or CIA. It's not like they don't have connections in Hollywood.

For one it's a great distraction from REAL issues, AND some asshats make a mint over the holidays in a test run of online releases.

Lemmings rejoice!

a reply to: Sparkymedic

This wasn't a test run on online releases, I can guarantee you that...

Like I said, they lose millions of dollars releasing online. One pirate can take a bullet and buy the movie online, record / download it, then distribute it online for free. They can lose millions in sales just because of one guy.

They no doubt took a major hit in profits releasing this movie online. I'm sure they were under contract to release it and show profits at a certain date and time, so they were forced to release the movie or get sued.

Ohh yes... poor Pho... Sony. They invested a trillionth of their wealth into a crap propaganda movie, made it into a media stunt, and fooled the world. In order to correct things they MADE IT PUBLIC, to promote the lame propaganda... and the world gobbles it up. Very Pathetic. Absolutely disgusting!

Sony's 'The Interview' makes $18 million in opening weekend

Not too shabby. If it's even true.

(Reuters) - Sony Pictures (6758.T) said "The Interview" has earned more than $15 million in online sales and another $2.8 million in theaters, an impressive return made possible by the publicity surrounding the cyberattack blamed on North Korea.

And...

The studio said on Sunday the film had been purchased or rented online more than 2 million times on the four days through Saturday, making it Sony Pictures' No. 1 online movie of all time.

"That is a huge number," said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations.

"This is almost what it was going to do theatrically before it was pulled. It made about what people expected, but in a completely different way."

Hmm.