If your Christmas day plans were turned upside down by Sony's shocking decision to pull The Interview entirely after the film received terror threats from hackers whom the FBI believes to be affiliated with North Korea, good news: It looks like you may not have to change your plans after all. According to reports from various sources including Variety and CNN, Sony is planning a limited release of The Interview on Christmas day, following the massive backlash their decision to pull the film in the first place received.
According to Variety, the film will be shown at two theaters so far: Atlanta, Georgia's Plaza Atlanta theater, and Austin, Texas' Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (yes, the same theater that wanted to replace showings of The Interview with another film that makes fun of a North Korean dictator, Team America). It's not clear if more independent theaters will follow — but, as CNN's Brian Stelter points out on Twitter, Sony confirmed the release of the film in a limited capacity in a press release, and reps from both Plaza Atlanta and Alamo Drafthouse have stated on Twitter that they've reached an agreement with Sony to show the film on Christmas day.
As for what may have changed Sony's mind about releasing the film, it's possible that it's just down to the backlash that pulling the film following the terror threats it received was the catalyst — Sony had been in a bad position, PR-wise, lately, considering everyone from audiences to President Obama criticized the decision, Sony even hired crisis management guru Judy Smith (the inspiration behind Scandal's main character Olivia Pope) to help regain positive public image.
Whether or not this will lead to a wider release still remains to be seen. For now, however...
