The dominoes fell swiftly Tuesday. The group behind the massive Sony hacks released another cache of confidential information, threatening violence against movie theaters that dare play the Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy The Interview. Soon both actors canceled the rest of their promotional appearances for the film, and Sony told theater chains that it “wouldn’t object” if they chose to drop the film due to safety concerns. Carmike Cinemas was the first company to take Sony up on its offer, with Landmark Theatres calling off the movie’s New York premiere hours later.
As an event, it’s unprecedented: a cyberattack has rocked a major corporation in the most public of ways, and is now dictating the release of a major motion picture in the United States. And yet the studio still has one card tucked in its back pocket.