Packed crowds for ‘Interview’

Media reports say “The Interview” is showing to packed houses in the limited number of theaters that were willing to show it.

The Associated Press reported sold out shows at Atlanta’s Plaza Theater. In Santa Ana, Calif., The New York Times reported that star Seth Rogen showed up at a sold-out show at the Silent Movie Theater.

{mosads}Other cinemas also reported good crowds, and Sony is expected to release its initial grosses for the $40 million film on Friday.

The James Franco and Rogen comedy about a television anchor and producer asked by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un was to have premiered at 3,000 theaters on Christmas Day.

Instead, it’s premiering on hundreds of screens around the country after theaters were threatened by hackers who said they would terrorize cinemas that showed the film.

North Korea has called the movie an act of war, and Sony Pictures was hit by one of the costliest hacking attacks in history ahead of the film’s release. North Korea has denied involvement in the hack, but the FBI has implicated the country.

Sony initially canceled the film’s Christmas Day release after the threats of terrorism, but shifted its position after it came under pressure from the public and President Obama, who argued Sony should never have cancelled it.

The limited release is likely to hit the film’s earnings, though it is also being released simultaneously on YouTube Movies and GooglePlay, where it was listed as the top seller on Thursday.

For some of the art houses showing the film, however, it is possible that Sony’s loss could be their gain. The Times reported that individual tickets at some theaters cost as much as $24.