(MENAFN- Arab Times) LOS ANGELES Jan 1 (Agencies): Sony Pictures Entertainment added more viewing options for its provocative comedy 'The Interview' making the film available through US pay television operators and nearly doubling the number of independent theaters that will show the movie. The film blamed for triggering a massive cyberattack on Sony's movie studio will also be sold through Wal- Mart Stores Inc's digital on-demand service Vudu and on Sony's PlayStation Network Sony said in a statement on Wednesday.
On Dec. 17 Sony canceled the Christmas Day release of 'The Interview' a farcical story starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as journalists recruited by the CIA to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after hackers threatened violence against movie theaters and major theater chains refused to show it. Following days of criticism from Hollywood celebrities and President Barack Obama Sony struck deals to launch the film in 331 independent theaters and through online distributors such as Google Inc's YouTube Movies and Google Play. After the film earned $15 million from 2 million sales or rentals over four days Apple Inc added the movie to its iTunes store where it ranked as the topselling movie on Wednesday. Provider Also on Wednesday US cable satellite and telecommunications providers began making the 'The Interview' available to rent through their video ondemand and pay-per-view services Sony said. The providers include Comcast Corp Time Warner Cable Inc Cox Communications AT&T Inc's Uverse Verizon Communications Inc's Fios and DirecTV. Vudu and Verizon customers also can buy the film. 'The Interview' will also play in more than 580 independent theaters starting on Friday. Over the long Christmas holiday weekend the limited theatrical release brought in $2.8 million at the box office as moviegoers turned out to support what they called a triumph for free speech. Sony is trying to recoup the $44 million production budget plus an estimated $30 million to $40 million in marketing costs for 'The Interview.' The studio shares revenue from theater and online sales with the distributors. The US government has blamed retaliation by North Korea for the hacking of Sony in November the most destructive cyberattack on a company on US soil. North Korea has denied that it was behind the attack. In six days Sony's comedy 'The Interview' has become 2014's bestseller on a pair of Google streaming sites Google Play and YouTube Movie according to a Google spokesperson. The controversial Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy was still listed as the top current download as of Monday on YouTube Movies and the second-highest on Google Play behind 'Guardians of the Galaxy.' The studio began streaming 'The Interview' on Christmas Eve through the sites along with Microsoft's Xbox Video and its own dedicated site http://www.seetheinterview.com for $5.99 or $14.99 for an HD version. Apple's iTunes site came on board on Sunday. The movie began showing at 331 independent theaters on Christmas Day and grossed $2.8 million its first four days. Sony announced Sunday that 'The Interview' had grossed $15 million online in its first four days and that it was rented or downloaded more than 2 million times. The revenues exceed those of recent VOD successes such as 'Snowpiercer' which earned $7 million on demand; 'Arbitrage' ($14 million); and 'Bachelorette' ($8.2 million). Sony did not disclose the financial terms of its deals with online distributors but in the past they have been more favorable than the revenue split studios share with theater chains. During a theatrical release ticket sales are usually evenly divided but digital release tend to favor the studios behind the films. Google Play and YouTube are responsible for the bulk of the film's $15 million total an individual with knowledge has told Variety. Netflix is in talks to secure 'The Interview' but no deal has been struck yet. Also: BEIJING: China's box office sales surged 36 percent in 2014 state-run media reported Thursday as the world's second-largest film market after the United States added thousands of screens. Cinemas took in 29.6 billion yuan ($4.77 billion) in ticket sales last year with domestic films accounting for a little more than half the total the official Xinhua news agency reported. Domestic productions made 16.15 billion yuan or about 55 percent of the total as China produced more than 600 movies Xinhua cited Zhang Hongsen head of the country's film censor as saying. China only allows 34 foreign films to be released in the country each year and imposes censorship by cultural authorities who excise content deemed politically sensitive or obscene. LOS ANGELES: Powered by local phenom 'Spanish Affair' and more audience- friendly ticket pricing total 2014 Spanish box office edged up 3% vs. 2013 to EUR522 million ($631.9 million) Rentrak Spain announced Wednesday. Admissions sky-rocketed rising 14% year-on-year to 87 million. Figures are thru Dec. 29. With soft comparables after a disastrous 2013 when Spanish cinema theater revenues fell off a cliff recovery is not yet robust not broad enough however to suggest that Spain's box office degradation is in any way over. Of particular concern is the near uniform underperformance of young adult movies - read most Hollywood blockbusters but also some Spanish mainstream plays - which have been hit by a perfect storm of mass youth unemployment or low-paid employment and still rampant piracy.
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