After triggering terrorist threats, one of the most disruptive cyberattacks to ever hit a U.S. company and nearly being canceled, Sony Pictures' "The Interview" opened in Maryland theaters Christmas Day.
The comedy, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco and is about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim-Jong Un, led hackers to release thousands of private Sony emails and threaten attacks against theaters that showed the film.
When major theater chains refused to show the movie, Sony initially canceled its release, then reversed the decision and finally pre-empted its theatrical release by making it available for streaming online Christmas Eve.
The controversy over the film brought widespread hype. Eastpoint Movies 10, an independent theater in Dundalk, drew several news crews and a slew of calls Tuesday, when it announced that it would be one of three venues in Maryland to show the film.
Alex Newson and Brad Roylston, who work at the Mount Washington Tavern, discussed the hubbub as they stood in the snack line before the first showing, at 11:40 a.m. Thursday.
Newson, a 27-year-old Parkville resident, said he bought a $5.50 ticket to the comedy because "the terrorists win when they inspire fear."
Roylston, 28, of Pikesville, said he just wanted to see what all the hype was about.
In the parking lot afterward, they said they enjoyed the film, and Newson found humor in the controversy.
"It was a cheap thrill ride, not knowing if you were going to make it home for Christmas dinner," he joked.
The film's online release might have dampened some of the excitement of going to see it: The Christmas Day crowds were modest at Movies 10, across Eastern Avenue from Eastpoint Mall. The matinee was less than half full, with roughly 50 people visible in the darkened theater.
The film was available for rental on YouTube early Wednesday afternoon. Microsoft and Sony were also showing the comedy, a day before its scheduled premiere at some 320 independent theaters. While Sony has picked "The Interview" back up for wide release, the major theater chains have yet to do so.
"We'd be sold out" if the movie hadn't also been released online, said Ron Sween, a theater operations manager at Eastpoint. Normally, theaters won't compete with streaming, he said, but "we made an exception because of the ideology of playing the picture."
"I'm a big advocate of the Constitution, and I was appalled that a third-world country could dictate what movies we as Americans could watch," Sween said.
Last week, President Barack Obama blamed the cyberattacks on North Korea, and on Wednesday the White House praised Sony's decision to release the film.
"As the president made clear on Friday, we do not live in a country where a foreign dictator can start imposing censorship here in the United States," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said.
Sween took safety precautions for the release — the most visible in the form of his pair of 160-pound Leonbergers, Wesley and Jäger, who sat quietly wagging their tails in the lobby.
The dogs swept the theaters for bombs and other substances Wednesday night and before and after each showing of "The Interview."
As the movie began and the last stragglers found their seats in the theater, Sween walked with the dogs through the nearly empty lobby as they sniffed trash cans.
All they found, he said, was popcorn.
Reuters contributed to this article.
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