The Interview has gone from a mere Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy to a patriotic cause célèbre as America’s top five theater chains, including Regal Cinemas, Cinemark, Cineplex, Carmike, and AMC Theatres, have all dropped the movie. (Bow Tie Cinemas and Classic Cinemas have also opted not to screen the film.) This comes after the hackers who have been leaking internal Sony correspondence as well as upcoming films and film scripts threatened violence against movie theaters that screened The Interview; Sony announced last night that they were giving theaters the option to not show it. The Interview’s New York premiere has also been canceled, as well as press screenings in several cities. The A.V. Club is still planning to attend the Chicago press screening, which has not been canceled at this time.
In other news, making anonymous terrorist threats on the Internet totally works.
UPDATE: Deadline reports that Sony is also pulling TV ads promoting The Interview in response to the fallout from yesterday’s threats. However, Variety says that Sony is considering releasing the film on premium VOD instead, one of “several options” being discussed for the film.