Amongst all the controversy and speculation surrounding the release of Seth Rogen and James Franco’s The Interview it seems safe to assume a lot of eyes will be on the Sony picture during this years Christmas Box Office. Luckily for Sony, reports indicate strong ticket sales for the upcoming comedy despite losing support from major theater chains, all thanks to the help of over 300 independent theaters across the US.
It is unlikely The Interview will come anywhere near the $35 million which The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has been predicted to achieve in its second weekend, nor will it be a threat to Disney’s Into the Woods predictions of around $27 million. However Sony could look to bring home at least $3 million in four day gross, which considering it will be restricted to smaller and fewer (about 2500 fewer than originally planned) theaters in the US it is a pretty decent figure.
How The Interview performs this christmas is sure to give a resounding answer to the old question, “is all publicity really good publicity?”. Will the threat of terroist activity put moviegoers off going to see this christmas comedy? or will the Rogen-Franco film triumph despite the many obstacles it has faced?
If none of the above movies are to your taste then there are a number of other films opening across the US this christmas, including The Gambler, starring Mark Wahlberg, and Tim Burton’s Big Eyes, featuring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz.
The Interview is directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and sees Rogen and James Franco leading a cast that also includes Lizzy Caplan (Masters of Sex), Randall Park (Sex Tape), Timothy Simons (Veep) and Charles Rahi Chun (Scrubs).