Interview to be released over the Atlantic

British cinema audiences will finally be able to see for themselves what all the fuss was about when The Interview, a comedy about two hapless US journalists’ attempts to assassinate the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is released on over 200 screens across the country today. Unlike in the US, where Sony initially pulled the film from distribution for fear of further retribution from the suspected North Korean hackers who called themselves the Guardians of Peace, the film will get a full cinema release in the UK. Despite Sony back-tracking on its decision to pull the film after the decision drew criticism from President Obama for caving into terrorist demands, the film was only given a very limited theatrical release in the US, shown in only around 500 cinemas instead of the planned 3,000. It was made available to purchase via on-demand services and has already been rented or downloaded 4.3m times and has taken $40m from digital sales and over $6m from cinema takings. Sony have now claimed it is the “No 1 online film of all time”, and with the The Interview costing $44m to make, all production costs have already been recouped. Eat on that, Guardians of Peace. Just like Charlie Hebdo last month, The Interview has come back bigger and stronger than before. And the British, even though they were among America's first enemies, will just add to Sony's profits. It's called the Streisand effect, people. Look it up.