Now that's a first.
In the midst of all the shocking headlines surrounding "The Interview" that have been circulating the cybersphere, there has emerged perhaps the most surprising news yet: The movie actually did well. In fact, it had a $15 million opening weekend – online. That makes it a precedent-setter. No longer is it doomed to be the movie that North Korea almost took down. Now it's a successful film in its own right.
Bad News Finally Turns Good For Seth Rogen Vehicle
The last month hasn't been kind to "The Interview," a satirical film by Seth Rogen about a plot to assassinate North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un. First, there was North Korea's public anger about the film and threats of retribution. Then there was the massive Sony hack that may or may not have been carried out by North Korea. And finally, there were apparent threats of violence against theaters planning to show "The Interview," threats that temporarily succeeded in grinding the film's release to a halt. But patriotism and a love of the Seth Rogen/James Franco bromance ended up sort of winning out, since Sony ultimately decided to release the film for rent and purchase on various streaming platforms, as well as in some theaters.
Sony's choice to do a major online release was one thing. The fact that the release actually did incredibly well (considering the circumstances) is quite another. According to CNN Money, the film racked up $15 million in online sales over a four-day period. And that was even before Sunday, when Seth Rogen and a few others involved with the film decided to hold a live tweet sesh (a highlight from Rogen's Twitter: "We try to stay true to the facts, but I honestly don't know what the North Korean regime think of Jews.").
The film wasn't only a hit online – it also played well at the few theaters that were still willing to show it. Despite only 311 independent theaters showing the film, it made an extremely impressive $2.8 million over the weekend, according to Reuters. When you add that to the online numbers, it adds up to a nearly $20 million opening weekend.
"That is a huge number," box office analyst Jeff Bock said. "This is almost what it was going to do theatrically before it was pulled. It made about what people expected, but in a completely different way."
As Far As Box Office Surprises Go, "The Interview" Is In Good Company
The online success of "The Interview" despite the major hurdles it had to overcome bodes well for the future of online film releases. The film represents Sony's biggest online success to date, and it will undoubtedly inspire other studios to consider more online-centric releases for major films. In addition to being a precedent-setter in this regard, "The Interview" joins the esteemed company of other films that blew everyone's box office projections out of the water. Here are some others, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly and Fandango:
- Garden State (2004): "Garden State" is one of those intensely polarizing movies, but there's no denying its box office success. Released in 2004, the very modestly-budgeted, New Jersey-set dram-com wasn't projected to blossom at the box office, but it ended up making more than $35 million, which far surpassed the film's $2.5 million budget.
- The Blair Witch Project (1999): It's almost superfluous to include this film on the list, since it's the go-to example of a film that absolutely demolished anybody's initial monetary projections. The movie was made for less than $100,000 in a grainy, found-footage style. There were no major stars, no brand recognition – nothing. The movie only had the originality of its style and its unique vision of horror to catapult it to success. Fortunately, those were enough, and the film ended up making more than $248.6 million.
- Memento (2000): Like "Blair Witch," the low-budget "Memento" also relied on a singular style that audiences fell in love with. Where "Blair Witch's" unique conceit was "found" footage, "Memento's" was time reversal: The whole movie played out from end to finish, courtesy of an unreliable narrator with a highly fragmented memory. The director, Christopher Nolan, didn't have that much money at his disposal to bring his film to life. Nolan does not have that problem anymore.
