"The world will be full of fear," the hacking group Guardians of Peace posted on the text-sharing site Pastebin Tuesday. "Remember the 11th of September 2001."
In response, Sony has told theater owners that they should feel free to cancel screenings of the comedy, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as two men who are asked to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Carmike Cinemas, headquartered in Columbus, Georgia, became the first chain to pull the film following the threat from the Guardians of Peace. The company operates 278 theaters and 2,917 screens in 41 states.
On Tuesday evening, Landmark's Sunshine Cinema announced that it had canceled the New York premiere of the film due to the threat. In addition, Rogen and Franco have canceled all upcoming publicity appearances for the movie, Buzzfeed reports.
The Los Angeles premiere of the film went off without a hitch last Thursday. There, Rogen publicly thanked Sony Pictures chairman Amy Pascal for "having the balls" to make the film.
The Department of Homeland Security has said that "there is no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters within the United States."
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the F.B.I. told the New York Times that it "is aware of the threat and is continuing to investigate the attack on Sony."
On Monday, two former Sony employees filed a lawsuit against the company for not taking adequate measures to protect itself from such a cyber attack.
