Following in the footsteps of Cinemark and Bow Tie, the nation’s two largest theater chains have opted to not show Sony’s The Interview after hackers threatened violence at any theater that showed the film on Christmas Day.
Sources for The Wall Street Journal and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., as well as Cinemark Holdings Inc., have all decided against showing the Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy about an assassination plot against North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
This news comes just moments after the National Association of Theatre Owners issued a statement that the chains had to make the decision to show the film or not themselves. The statement reads:
“The ability of our guests to enjoy the entertainment they choose in safety and comfort is and will continue to be a priority for theater owners. While we do not discuss security procedures or policies, NATO members are working closely with the appropriate security and law enforcement agencies. We are encouraged that the authorities have made progress in their investigation and we look forward to the time when the responsible criminals are apprehended. Until that happens, individual cinema operators may decide to delay exhibition of the movie so that our guests may enjoy a safe holiday movie season experiencing the many other exciting films we have to offer.”
Regal, Carmike, AMC and Cinemark control over 18,000 screens in North America. That means that Sony will likely have to delay the film’s release, although the studio still hasn’t made a decision on that yet. However, Deadline has just reported that Sony is pulling all TV advertising for the movie, so it sure sounds like the film is going to be delayed all together.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com