The controversial Sony film, "The Interview," was released in US cinemas and online on Christmas Day. Sony Pictures Entertainment decided to go ahead with the screening of the film after US President Obama called out the franchise for canceling the movie. Obama said that the move was against freedom of speech.
Sony has been receiving threats from hacker group GOP (Guardians of Peace) after the film was announced. The comedy film is about two American journalists who were recruited by the CIA to assassinate Kim Jong-un. North Korea has expressed dismay over the film and said that it damages the "dignity of its supreme leadership."
Leaked films, emails, and even private employee information were uploaded by the hackers following an enormous cyberattack which nearly crippled the company. The hackers threatened to cause more damage if Sony releases the film.
Reactions were divided among movie goers and cinema owners. Some major cinemas across the US have decided not to show the film, while other smaller, independent cinemas have opted to go on and screen it.
Movie tickets at a Los Angeles cinema were sold out on the first screening day. Stars and co-directors of "The Interview" expressed their gratitude to those who supported the film.
"You need to stand up for these things. And I am not going to let a country that regularly depicts in video the nuclear Armageddon of this country and that's OK, and we can't make a satirical picture about something that is not going to happen," movie goer Dennis Lavalle who saw the film with his daughter said.
Apart from cinema screenings, the movie is also available online via YouTube and Google Play Store. According to latest reports, it is the leading movie on Google Play Store and one of YouTube's top sellers after it was launched.
Sony has not made a statement on how much it made with the film's initial screening. Sony's gaming wing The Playstation Network, will also start showing the film online next week. Xbox Live, who is also selling the movie online, has been under cyberattack after it launched it.
