‘The Interview’ is owning YouTube right now
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Sony’s controversial film “The Interview” is the most popular video on YouTube Friday, despite a $5.99 price tag for a 48-hour rental.
The film, a comedy about an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has garnered more than 77.5 million views on YouTube so far. But it’s unclear how many of these represent individuals who paid to rent the film. Users who pay can easily share the link with friends.
A video of the film’s co-directors, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, making a surprise appearance at the Cinefamily movie theater in Los Angeles ahead of the theater’s first screening of the controversial film was the third most popular video on YouTube Friday.
Sandwiched in between at the No. 2 spot is a video of Sir Patrick Stewart grimacing while a ridiculous-looking elf hat twitches back and forth on his head. Stewart is a British actor known for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard on the television series “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
The demand for “The Interview” comes after Sony Pictures first canceled the planned Christmas Day release after a group that claimed responsibility for a massive hack of the company’s systems also threatened to commit acts of terror at movie theaters showing the film and major movie theaters said they wouldn’t show it. The company reversed itself in part on Dec. 23,. saying it would release the film via a limited number of screens on Christmas Day. It then additionally released the film online on Christmas Eve.
The film made just over $1 million in ticket sales from 331 locations, or an average of $3,142 per theater, the Associated Press reported, citing distributor Sony Pictures. Many theaters reported selling out showings, it said.
In addition to YouTube, “The Interview” is available on Google Play, Microsoft’s Xbox video store and through Sony’s seetheinterview.com. Viewers have the option of buying the movie for $15.
Also read: ‘The Interview’ reviews range from terrible to OK
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-interview-is-owning-youtube-right-now-2014-12-26
