A Ticket And A Poster Of The Film 'The Interview' Starring Actors Seth Rogen And James Franco
Dennis Lavalle holds a ticket and a poster of the film "The Interview" starring actors Seth Rogen and James Franco as he attends the Christmas Day screening of "The Interview" in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles, California December 25, 2014. "The Interview," the Sony Pictures film about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, opened in more than 300 movie theaters across the United States on Christmas Day, drawing many sell-out audiences and statements by patrons that they were championing freedom of expression. REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian Reuters/Kevork Djansezian

The controversial movie 'The Interview' has earned immense profits despite its limited theatrical release. According to recent reports released by Sony Pictures, the movie has thus far made around $31 million in digital and video-on-demand sales after major movie theatre chains refused to play it as scheduled on Christmas day.

Sony has announced the results recently to show that despite the tumultous concerns surounding the movie and its controlled release, the film still managed to gather enough profits. According to reports from Time, the movie has almost reached a break-even point and recovered the initial investment done by Sony.

Since the movie was released in just a handful of cinema halls, the major chunk of its revenue came from its digital sales. As reported earlier, the $44 million project venture by Sony almost reached a deadend when the movie was cancelled for release following a 9/11 style attack threats on the halls showcasing the movie.

'The Interview' is a fictional comedy movie about two CIA agents on a mission to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. To portray their protest against the movie, the North Korean supporters have allegedly hacked and paralysed the Sony Pictures' internal IT system. Witnessing the fear of the cinema hall owners, Sony announced its decision to scrap its multi-million dollar project.

However, Sony back tracked from its earlier decision and declared that the movie will be released in a limited number of theatres and will be made available on online streaming service. Sony eventually launched the film on YouTube, Google Play, Xbox and its own movie rental website on Christmas Eve.

The movie managed to earn $15 million in the form of rentals and purchase in the first four days of its release. The movie is also now available on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes and cable video on-demand systems.

The movie was released in just 558 cinema halls as compared to its planned launch across 3000 theatres. Sony declared that the movie is an online hit, and has been rented, streamed or purchased 4.3 million times till date, as reported by Daily Mail.

In other updates, NBR reported that the movie is now slated for a wider release. The movie will be realised in U.K. and Ireland on Feb 6. The film, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, will be released in New Zealand on Feb. 19. For these countries, the movie will be released only in theatres and no digital release is planned yet.

For questions/comments regarding the article, you may email the writer at poojakamal1203@gmail.com.