Sony, North Korea, and Hacking

[Tusk]

'The Interview' online release: Industry revolution or total fluke?

But unprecedented doesn't mean profitable, and that's where Wold thinks the film industry will place its attention. "The Interview," which had a $44 million budget, grossed only $1 million at the box office on Thursday. Sony has not disclosed how many viewers rented or purchased the film online. The company was not immediately available for comment.

"It's definitely going to be a money-losing movie for them," Wold added, noting that Sony was backed into a corner and had no other option but to try and recoup its costs. "I don't think you have anyone in Hollywood seeing this and saying, 'Wow, we can do this.'"

In 2013, the American movie industry attracted fewer viewers to physical movie theaters than in previous years, according to a report released in March by the Motion Picture Association of America. Ticket sales have fallen 11 percent between 2004 and 2013, according to the report. Meanwhile, sales of television shows and movies on the Internet jumped by 47 percent last year to $1.2 billion, and rentals by 5 percent to $2 billion, according to the Digital Entertainment Group.

That's not to mention the piracy problem. "The Interview," after getting the green light for an online release, has now been downloaded illegally more than 750,000 times, according to estimates from file-sharing news site TorrentFreak.

In terms of revenue for "The Interview," BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield said on Twitter Wednesday that the split between studios and video-on-demand providers like YouTube in this case is likely more favorable for film creators, giving theater chains reason to worry. Traditionally, he said, film studios split revenue down the middle with theater chains, whereas a video-on-demand owner would likely only take 30 percent or less for "The Interview," with the rest going to the studio.