With $2.85 million at the box office over the Christmas holiday weekend, The Interview’s highly unusual debut is both great and terrible news for Sony Pictures, depending on one’s point of view.
James Franco and Seth Rogen in The Interview
Ed Araquel / Columbia Pictures
After becoming an international lightning rod en route to its wide release on Christmas, then getting pulled from theaters entirely, only to be reinstated in a much smaller number of theaters two days before Dec. 25, The Interview finally debuted.
And it did…fine. Or great, or terribly, depending on how you choose to look at it.
In 331 theaters, The Interview grossed an estimated $2.85 million over the four day holiday, for a per theater average of $8,613. Its three-day weekend grosses are a bit smaller — $1.8 million since Friday, with a per theater average of $5,471 — but for the sake of argument, let's stipulate that roughly the same number of people would have seen it in a theater over the weekend had they not had the opportunity on Thursday.
With that in mind, a $2.85 million debut is on target with other buzz-y movies that have played in a similar number of theaters. Boyhood grossed $2.4 million when it expanded to 310 theaters in its fourth weekend of release. A Most Wanted Man, featuring one of Philip Seymour Hoffman's final performances, opened in 361 theaters with $2.7 million. Eventual 2013 Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave grossed $2.1 million when it expand to 123 theaters in its second weekend. Matthew McConaughey began his career resurgence with the indie drama Mud, which opened in 363 theaters with $2.2 million. And Enough Said, co-starring James Gandolfini in one of his final roles, grossed $2.1 million when it expanded to 227 theaters in its second weekend.
You get the point — The Interview's debut is on the top end of what one could reasonably expect from a limited release of that scope. The movie hasn't come close to breaking any limited release box office records, but it remains in very good company.
Veronica Mars
Warner Bros.
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