‘The Interview’ does brisk business at Sonoma County theaters (w/video)

Moviegoers packed the three Sonoma County theaters that screened the controversial comedy “The Interview” on Christmas Day. Theaters beefed up security on one of the biggest days for movie watching after hackers the U.S. says are linked to North Korea threatened to attack movie houses showing the film about an assassination plot against Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s leader.

Following a cyberattack on its computer network, Sony Entertainment last week canceled the movie’s release after large theater chains refused to show it. The move was widely criticized, including by President Barack Obama. Independent theater owners on Tuesday asked Sony to release the film, which it did at 331 theaters nationwide and through online streaming video sites. The limited release was a far cry from the 3,000 screens the movie was initially scheduled to open on.

“I’m a huge believer in free speech and freedom of artistic expression,” said Ky Boyd, proprietor of Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol, which showed the movie Thursday along with Petaluma’s Boulevard 14 Cinemas and Sonoma 9 Cinemas. “The movie has had so much press, people deserve a chance to see it.”

Rialto Cinemas filled 60 of 73 seats for its 11:45 a.m. showing, which Boyd said was good for the time slot. Boulevard 14 Cinemas sold out or nearly sold out its 250-seat theater for its eight showings. The Petaluma theater was the 35th highest grossing cinema in the country for “The Interview,” according to Dave Corkill, owner of Cinema West, which owns the Petaluma and Sonoma theaters.

People who caught the movie in Petaluma said watching the Seth Rogen/James Franco flick was a statement on freedom of speech.

“I was terribly concerned that the studio wasn’t going to release it,” said Michael Landes of Penngrove after seeing the movie in Petaluma. “You can’t control what people are going to be offended by.”

Sentiments locally echoed those around the country. At some theaters, patrons wore red, white and blue, and a manager at Cinema Village in Manhattan introduced the film by reciting the words to “America,” also known as “My Country ’Tis of Thee.”

Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the film directors, appeared at a screening at Cinefamily Theater in Los Angeles and thanked people for coming out to see the movie.

Critics have largely panned the movie, and audiences have given it a 69 out of 100 on the review site Rotten Tomatoes. Landes and others who saw it said they found it entertaining and funny.

“The subject matter walked the line really well,” Landes said. “It wasn’t blindly jingoistic or pro-American, nor was it derogatory toward Asians. It specifically focused on one dictator.”

After seeing the movie in Petaluma, a man named Shawn who did not give his last name said he was glad Sony reversed course and decided to release the movie.

“I don’t think anyone should have to pull a movie for any reason,” he said. “I don’t care how offensive or stupid it is. If I don’t like it, I won’t go see it.”

Cinema West hired security guards to ensure customers felt safe, Corkill said. At the Petaluma theater, Tom Tilley, with First Security Services, checked bags and confiscated sharp items like scissors. He said the day was without incident, though he had orders to contact police and detain anyone making threats.

“There have been no problems,” he said. “If there were, I would have to make a citizen’s arrest and turn them over to the police.”

Some movie goers said the controversy surrounding the film was enough to pique their interest. Teenagers Alec Ost, Sebastian Bissiri and Adrian Macias, all of Santa Rosa, went to Petaluma to watch the movie since theaters in their hometown were not screening it.

“I only saw it because of the controversy,” Bissiri said. “I saw it because Kim Jong Un flipped out. He overreacted.”

Ost said he never felt unsafe at the theater.

“What were the hackers going to do, really?” he said.

This report includes information from the New York Times and Associated Press. You can reach Staff Writer Matt Brown at 521-5206 or matt.brown@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MattBrownPD.