Sony Pictures Entertainment makes the "The Interview" available at a limited number of theaters on Christmas in 2014.

 Sony hack and privacy invasion

Sony Pictures Entertainment suffered a huge cyber hack and its confidential data was leaked by hackers in November 2014. The data included personal information about Sony Pictures employees and their families, e-mails between employees, information about executive salaries at the company, copies of unreleased Sony films, and other information.

The hackers called themselves the "Guardians of Peace" and demanded the cancellation of the planned release of the film "The Interview," a comedy about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Sony initially cancelled the film's release because major cinema chains could not afford a possible 9/11 style terrorist attack, as hackers warned. But after criticism from the industry and even President Obama, Sony had the courage to screen it in small theater chains and released the film online via Youtube, iTunes, and other platforms, changing the industry film release pattern. As of Jan. 6, 2015, The Interview had earned US$31 million online, making it Sony's most successful online movie, and had grossed US$5.4 million at the U.S. box office. United States intelligence officials, evaluating the software, techniques, and network sources used in the hack, allege that the attack was sponsored by North Korea, which denied all responsibility, and some cyber security experts have cast doubt on the evidence, alternatively proposing that current or former Sony Pictures employees may have been involved in the hack.

Sony hack also caused big problems for Sony's Chinese staff and affected the release of their films in China, including a 3D makeover of Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle." One executive also complained that they also had received threats, and the business was shut down.

The Sony hack caused a lot of buzz on Chinese social media as so much juicy information was reported. A similar online carnival in China was when a series of Hollywood celebrities' nude photos, including Jennifer Lawrence's, were leaked online by hackers earlier in 2014.

Chinese authorities helped delete the photos and also helped the international community to tackle the Sony hack. Experts were worried that the hack and privacy infringement might eventually harm the public interest.

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