The Interview is the top selling movie of 2014 on Google Play

Even though it was only released last week, "The Interview" was the top selling movie for Google Play in 2014. Google also said that the film was tops over at YouTube, as well. No specific sales figure was released by Google, for either site. Sony said that since becoming available on Google Play, YouTube, Xbox Video and Sony's site, the movie has generated $15 million in revenue. On Sunday, Apple started streaming "The Interview" over iTunes.

In addition to the strong sales it scored online, "The Interview" generated $2.84 million over the weekend from its limited theatrical release. Over 300 theaters showed the comedy about two members of the media who are asked to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un by the CIA. North Korea reacted to the film by allegedly hacking in to Sony's computer network. A subsequent threat against theaters led to a number of them canceling the film. Sony then announced that it would pull its distribution of the movie, a decision that was denounced by President Obama.

After a few days, and with cooler heads prevailing, Sony decided on the limited theatrical run and online streaming of the movie. Google Play offered the film to Android users at a price of $5.99 to rent, and $14.99 to own. As it turns out, 20,000 Android handsets whose owners tried to illegally download "The Interview" on their phones, installed a version of the movie with malware included. The trojan apparently played havoc with some South Korean banks, stealing personal information and blanking out bank cards allowing for thefts from ATMs.

Thankfully, the malware infected versions of the movie appeared only on copies downloaded from torrent sites. Those who used Google Play or YouTube to download the movie on their Android phone, are safe.

source: Bloomberg