The eventual online release of The Interview following its theatrical pull was seen as something of a moral and ethical victory, but that hasn't stopped more than a million people from downloading it illegally.
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Terror threats resulted in theater chains deciding not to show the film in theaters, but it was eventually released (to buy or rent) through online platforms such as Google Play, YouTube, and Xbox Video. Torrent Freak is reporting that the number of illegal downloads passed 1.5 million since the movie went live.
It must be said that a large portion of these downloads likely come from outside the U.S. The film may have found limited theatrical and online release in the end, but that only applies in the states--other countries must wait weeks or months for the movie to launch if Sony can find a solution.
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As Time Warner Central points out, the number of illegal downloads falls about half a million short of the total number of legal sales. As stated, many of these probably are not lost sales as viewers in other countries did not have a paid alternative at this time. That said, it could reduce the desire of viewers to pay for an official version if it release abroad in the future, since they've already seen the film.
Between its limited theatrical release and online options, The Interview raked in about $18 million on its opening weekend. The film supposedly cost in the region of $45 million, without including the price of marketing and advertisements.
