"The Interview" will be in Canadian movie theatres January 2

Sony Pictures announced Tuesday that the controversial film “The Interview” will have a limited Canadian theatrical release starting Friday, January 2, 2015.

Currently only seven theatres in British Columbia are slated to run the Vancouver-filmed Seth Rogen and James Franco comedy about the assassination of the North Korean dictator. The closest theatres for Vancouver residents are those in Surrey and Pitt Meadows.

Here’s the full list, as released by Sony and published by CBC:

• Carib Theatre, Quesnel, B.C.
• Paradise Cinemas, Williams Lake, B.C.
• Grand, Salmon Arm, B.C.
• Hollywood Surrey, Surrey, B.C.
• Hollywood Pitt Meadows, Pitt Meadows, B.C.
• Towne Theatre, Vernon, B.C.
• Cottonwood Cinema, Chilliwack, B.C.

One smaller movie theatre chain representative told CBC the only reason the release was for these particular theatres was simply a matter of “screen availability.”

Major cinema chains backed out of plans to screen the film, then Sony Pictures pulled the movie altogether, only to follow up with a Christmas Eve day online release (that ultimately was expanded that day to include Canada).

Featured image: James Franco and Seth Rogen in “The Interview” (Sony Pictures)