Thanks to the whole threat of 9/11 style terrorism and all, Sony Pictures has decided to pull The Interview from theaters. For those unfamiliar, the group behind the Sony Pictures hack recently upped their ante against the Hollywood studio and the American public by declaring all those who opt to see the Seth Rogan and James Franco comedy on Christmas Day as viable targets. While not pulling the film at that time, Rogan and Franco canceled all of their press events to promote the film. Soon after, Sony Pictures made it clear that it would be fine if theaters opted to not show the film.

Now, Sony Pictures is officially pulling the movie from theaters. Though according to Homeland Security there is little evidence of an actual threat, SP likely wants this saga to end as soon as possible. While in an ideal world they would be standing up to terrorists and stand for American ideals where we don’t change our lives due to fear, Sony also likely doesn’t want to be involved with such headlines should there be an actual attack. So will the theatrical cancelation of The Interview mean the former cyber criminals and now terrorist group get the last laugh?

Not if Sony listens to our plan that not only sends a direct ‘F You’ to the group behind it and North Korea, be it if they are involved or not. But it also helps one of the company’s younger services (Crackle) which sure could use a national campaign. Meet me after the jump.

Traditionally, if a studio were to cancel a film, it could have a hugely negative impact on their bottom line. After all, you’ve just spent anywhere from $100-300 million making a film and maybe an additional $50-100 million marketing it. Sure you could go to rentals and streaming for a revenue source but those sources don’t bring that much compared to a national theatrical release. In the case of The Interview, the number it could make on Blu-ray and DVD is even less, seeing how it’s an R rated comedy, aimed at a traditionally younger demographic.

Luckily for Sony, The Interview isn’t the next Hobbit movie. Seth Rogan comedies normally work on a small budget and while The Interview’s scope is larger than say Pineapple Express or Neighbors, the budget isn’t all that high. In fact, according to leaked documents from Sony Pictures, The Interview cost $44 million to make. It’s unclear how much Sony has spent on marketing but with the film not having yet reached release where the studio traditionally pumps a majority of the budget, it’s safe to say that we can put a cap of $50 million on the film.

With a lower budget, it’s still unlikely that Sony could make up the films revenue directly from home video but it does give them a fighting chance. But besides that, there is something entirely different Sony could do. While others in the community have said that Sony should release The Interview for free, I have a slightly different take on that idea. Instead of just simply putting it on torrent sites or on their website for free which first and foremost would be the ultimate ‘F You‘ to the group behind this, Sony can instead release the comedy on Crackle.

For those unaware, Crackle is the free media streaming app from Sony which is available on just about every device you can imagine. From PS4 to Xbox One to media streamers like Apple TV and smart televisions; Crackle can be viewed with no subscriptions. In fact, you couldn’t pay for Crackle if you wanted. Instead of opting to go full on subscription like Netflix or different plans which break apart content like Hulu Plus, Crackle offers all of its TV shows and movies for free though you’ll have to sit through the occasional ad.

For Sony, releasing The Interview on Crackle is a win/win. Not only does this move allow Sony to go on the offensive and come out the champion instead of a victim, but it also gives them full control of the scenario and can be quickly initiated. As I mentioned, there will already be ads involved so it’s not as if it’s a complete financial drain for Sony. Heck, with so much focus on this whole story, Sony can likely even charge a premium for ad spots and get a few new advertisers as well. Best of all, this will result into a nationwide marketing campaign for Crackle which until now has survived on its own with little direct push from Sony besides ensuring the service is available on a slew of devices. With Sony simply announcing and then releasing The Interview on Crackle, every news agency will run with the story as they have thus far. In fact, Sony can make it an event:

 On Christmas, sit home, relax with the family, and watch The Interview.

Don’t worry, it’s on us. 

That can be their message to families. That confident attitude will be serve as a direct middle finger to those behind it while gaining Sony all the good will in the world. Best of all, with each news agency and blog reposting on it, Sony will have to do very little to promote The Interview or Crackle while both services will get the promotion of a lifetime. Heck, maybe they can do a double feature with Team America. If you think about, ‘writing off’ $50 million, a value that studios many times lose on films that didn’t perform all that well isn’t all that much when you consider that not only will you making back money from home video, but that you’ll also be able to sell ads during its release to the entire country, while also promoting one of your services. With $50 million easily the marketing budget for a single tentpole movie, the plus side of releasing The Interview on Crackle suddenly becomes a lot better than either never releasing the movie or eventually releasing on home video, months after the incident with no free publicity.

Discuss:

Would you stay at home on Christmas Day to watch The Interview on Crackle?