Movie theater chief blasts Sony’s handling of ‘The Interview’

The chairman of the second-largest U.S. movie theater chain strongly criticized Sony Pictures over its handling of the release of “The Interview,” a film that depicts an assassination plot against North Korean leader King Jong Un.

AMC Entertainment CEO Gerry Lopez said the film studio made mistakes in the wake of a crippling cyberattack late last year. “The Interview” became a crucial piece of the puzzle after the hackers that targeted Sony threatened to attack theaters that carried the film.

{mosads}Sony pulled “The Interview” as a result, but after criticism from President Obama, reversed itself and said theaters could release the film.

Lopez said the episode was “poorly handled” in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

“You had the president of the United States promoting the movie on television, and it still bombed,” he said. “Let’s just say the situation could have been handled a lot better. And in a quiet moment, [Sony Entertainment CEO] Michael [Lynton] might even agree. Sony was blindsided and destroyed by the hack. They made a lot of wrong decisions.”

The comments mark the first time a movie theater executive has weighed in publicly on the incident, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Theater chains reportedly wanted Sony to delay the film’s release rather than pulling it altogether.

The government believes North Korea was responsible for the attack despite skepticism from some experts. Security firm CrowdStrike uncovered new evidence for the link this week, pointing out strong similarities between the malware used against Sony and code linked to a group that has attacked South Korea.