'The Interview' uproar: Was ditching flick right business call for Sony? (+video)

Lots of people are outraged that Sony Pictures Entertainment is dropping plans to release The Interview, the Seth Rogen comedy that depicts the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Folks from Hollywood stars to film critics are complaining that pulling the film due to vague threats against theaters scheduled to show it is in essence allowing terrorists to triumph.

For instance, actress Mia Farrow says the bad guys won due to Sonys decision. At Vox, writer Todd VanDerWerff says Sony has committed an act of cowardice.

The move has set a bad precedent thats already affecting future movies, according to Mr. VanDerWerff entertainment company New Regency has now scrapped another North Korea-based film set to star Steve Carroll. Its de facto censorship emanating from Pyongyang, writes Mr. VanDerWerff.

Sony is not an arm of the US government, however. Its a multinational corporation legally accountable to shareholders. Given that context, did it make the correct business decision to cancel the comedy?

The answer to that might be yes.

Most theaters werent going to show the movie to begin with. The big US cinema chains had made it clear that they would not risk any violence in their buildings by screening it, however vague the threats. Going to the movies is supposed to be fun, not an act of personal courage, in their view.

The movie business is already facing stiff competition from the fast rise of streaming services and high-quality television productions. Cinema owners did not want The Interview to give patrons another reason to stay home on the couch. Since most theaters are multiplexes, they feared the controversy could drive down attendance for other movies as well.

Then theres the legal question. The chain which owned the theater in Aurora, Colo., attacked by a gunman in 2012 has defended against lawsuits by saying the incident was not foreseeable. The threats against The Interview might have rendered this defense moot.

Once the hackers threatened physical violence, the films cancellation became almost inevitable, write Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieply in The New York Times.

Plus, the film was not getting great reviews, alleged North Korean threats aside. While that might not bear on the question of censorship, it could play into an executives decision as to whether to absorb the cost of scrapping Sonys investment in the film.

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'The Interview' uproar: Was ditching flick right business call for Sony? (+video)