As 'Interview' takes streaming plunge, Hollywood tests waters

Los Angeles

CONSUMERS paid US$15 million in just four days to watch The Interview from the comfort of their couches, building expectations that other hot, new films might also make their debut online.

But Hollywood is not quite ready to give that to viewers, experts say. Even so, Sony Pictures' initial success streaming its controversial comedy will add momentum to the industry's slow adoption of same-day theatre and video-on-demand (VOD) release.

The experiment, a last-ditch effort by the unit of Sony Corp to keep The Interview alive despite a cyberattack on the studio and threats to movie theatres, has …