The Interview to Debut on Netflix...Soon

Does its release on Netflix change anything for Sony Pictures?

Story by Matt Cummings

Perhaps the most significant entertainment story of 2014 was one of its last: the decision by Sony Pictures to cancel the release of the comedy The Interview. This sparked a wave of controversy that hit social media like a 50' wave of guffaws and stunned reactions from people like Director Michael Moore to Actor Patton Oswalt. And although the film eventually saw theatrical release and did well in the VOD market, no one expected to see it on Netflix for at least a couple of months.

That changed today when Variety and other outlets today reported that Netflix had agreed to stream the film with Seth Rogen and James Franco beginning January 24th. Sure, it's already made about $6m (at the time of this posting) from 581 theatrical locations, but its VOD went off the scale to the tune of $40m. The Netflix news answers one question: would Sony seek a Netflix release, just to squeeze a little more money from it?

But the one question we might never answer is still out there: was it all worth it? Most people who've seen it haven't exactly been supportive (Metacritic gave it a combined score of 52), making the entire process look awful from so many perspectives, the most basic one being profit. With a budget of $44m, and an ad campaign of $30m, that conservatively puts the studio at about $28 million in the red.

Some claim that a full 3,000+ screen release could have certainly garnered more, adding yet another black eye to Sony Pictures, who just can't seem to get things right these days. For them, it was a no-win scenario, pitting American patriotism against risk-analysis departments and teams of lawyers. In the end, Sony bet and lost big time on a film that should never have been a holiday tentpole release; how could the studio bet its chips with such a weak hand?

Were they in the right for cancelling? Perhaps, but what does it say about Sony's big plans going forward? Certainly, the hack of Sony that led to news of SPECTRE's rather questionable script and the studio's lack of quality releases in 2015 (you really need to read our Top Movie Questions story) point to a more dire situation than the mere failure of one film. In the end, we could be looking at a situation where we might not have a Sony Pictures to kick around this time next year.

For now, The Interview will be available on January 24 on Netflix, and is now available on various streaming services.

Sources: Variety; Box Office

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