Theaters cancel ‘Team America’ showings

Theaters across the country are canceling showings of “Team America: World Police,” previously scheduled to replace “The Interview” after Sony pulled the film due to security concerns.

Multiple theaters on Thursday blamed the cancelation on Paramount Pictures, the distributor of the 2004 comedy.

{mosads}“Team America World Police pulled from all theatres as per Paramount Pictures,” the Plaza Theatre in Atlanta tweeted. 

“Our Late Shift screening of “Team America: World Police” has been canceled by Paramount Pictures,” echoed the Capitol Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.

Many theaters had planned to screen the movie, which features puppet characters who square off against North Korea, after Sony Pictures pulled the plug on “The Interview” on Wednesday. The movie was created by the directors of “South Park” and culminates in a major fight involving Kim Jong Il, the late leader of the East Asian nation. 

“The Interview,” a comedy featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco about an assassination attempt on Kim Jong Un, has been at the center of a major cyberattack on Sony, and earlier this week hackers had threatened violence against theaters that show the film.  

The Obama administration has said that it is investigating the source of the cyberattack, which many have suspected is being directed by North Korea as retribution for the film, but has declined to publicly identity any nation so far. The Department of Homeland Secuirty said earlier in the week that it did not have credible evidence of a looming terror plot against theaters showing “The Interview.”

It is unclear whether those same security concerns prompted Paramount to have theaters nix the “Team America” showing.

A spokeswoman with the Hollywood studio declined to comment to The Hill.

This post was updated at 5:00 p.m.