AMC Theatres CEO Criticises Sony Over Their Handling of 'The Interview'
He's the first major theatre operator to address The Interview debacle. AMC Entertainment CEO Gerry Lopez said that the movie's release was "poorly handled" by Sony Pictures and the film studio's chairman, Michael Lynton.
"You had the president of the United States promoting the movie on television, and it still bombed," Lopez told The Hollywood Reporter. "Let's just say the situation could have been handled a lot better. And in a quiet moment, Michael might even agree. Sony was blindsided and destroyed by the hack. They made a lot of wrong decisions."
Seven days before its initial release, Sony Pictures pulled the plug on The Interview following a direct threat against theatres by the group responsible for hacking the studio. Then theatres such as AMC and others decided they would not screen the movie on its release day. But after President Barack Obama, whose administration believed North Korea was behind the cyberattack, criticised Sony, the studio then decided to release The Interview in theatres and on video on demand (VOD) this past Christmas Day.
Major theatre chains, including AMC, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark, were furious with Lynton (Sony Chairman) for the way he handled the matter. Theatre chains claim they initially asked the studio to delay the film's release instead of pulling it altogether.
After all this, The Interview grossed approximately $55million between its theatre release and VOD release. However way you wish to interpret this whole situation, hopefully this scathing judgment from Gerry Lopez will be the last thing said regarding this subject.
