It would be nice if Sony decided to give
The Interview a limited release in smaller theaters just to show the world that North Korea's threats failed to prevent the film's Christmas release, even if they did manage to get the big theater chains to cower. But the film probably wouldn't turn a profit with such a small-scale release and it would squander the potential for a successful wide release in the future, so Sony's decision to cancel the Christmas release altogether makes sense. I hope it also means that they still intend to pursue a wide theatrical release, hopefully on a slow weekend in January or February when studios and theater chains aren't worried about high-profile releases like
Into the Woods losing business because people are avoiding theaters altogether over terror threats.
Now look at the kind of chilling effect this is already having on the industry:
http://deadline.com/2014/12/north-korea ... 201328532/