The New York premiere of Seth Rogen and James Franco's latest film, The Interview, has been cancelled after hacking group, Guardians of the Peace, threatened theatregoers with a "bitter fate" and warned them to "remember the 11th of September."
It is the latest in a string of threats by the hackers who have unleashed a storm of controversy across Hollywood after leaking embarrassing emails from Sony.
The Interview, a comedy about the attempted assassination of North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un, was scheduled to premiere on Thursday.
Little, if anything, is known about the anonymous Guardians of the Peace hacking group.
US authorities are investigating the possibility that the North Korean government is behind the group, a claim it has strongly denied.
Since the threats were released on Tuesday both Rogen and Franco have backed out of scheduled interviews to promote the film across the US.
In an email to editors and journalists across the US, Guardians of the Peace warned:
"Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you'd better leave.)"
US security officials have dismissed the threat.
"At this time there is no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theatres within the United States," said a Department of Home Security official.
However Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said that the threats were "done to put terror" into US audiences and the LA police department would be taking extra precautions to make cinemas "as safe as we can make them."
Sony executives have said they would not object if cinemas decided to cancel scheduled screenings out of concern for the safety of their staff and patrons.
Major US cinema chain, Carmike, has already announced that it will not screen the film at its 278 cinemas across the US.
With Reuters
