The New York premiere scheduled for Thursday was also

The New York premiere of the Sony movie that is at the center of its hacking crisis has been cancelled after it was threatened with a terrorist attack.

Screenings of the movie have also been cancelled at thousands of theaters across the country.

Early Tuesday, the hacking group Guardians of Peace, who have been systematically releasing email correspondence and leaking films after breaking into Sony's internal system, claimed an event similar to '11th of September 2001' would occur at theaters showing the film.

North Korean hackers are believed to be behind the cyber attack and now terrorist threat, angered over the film which tells the story of two men who travel to the secretive communist nation to kill leader, Kim Jong-un.

The Carmike Cinemas chain, which operates 278 theaters in 41 states, is now the first chain who will not be showing the film when it opens.

California's ArcLight cinemas. whose Hollywood location is one of the most famed and popular theaters in the country, will also not be showing the film.

Also backing out is Landmark Cinemas, who have now cancelled the film's New York premiere which was scheduled for Thursday at the famed Sunshine Cinema in the city's Lower East Side.

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Problems: Hackers have made ominous '9/11-like' threats against movie theaters showing Sony Pictures' film The Interview (above) starring James Franco and Seth Rogen

Problem child: The hackers are believed to be North Korean, and angered over the film, which tells the story of two men sent to kill Kim Jong-un (above)

Let it go: Now Sony and its studo heads Amy pascal (center) and Michael Lynton (right, with producer Scott Rudin on left) have told movie theaters they can pull the film

Despite all this however, Sony said they will not stop from distributing the film, set to open on Christmas.

The New York Times reports, 'Three people briefed on Sony’s internal discussions on Tuesday said the studio had decided to all but invite theater owners to force cancellation or further postponement of The Interview.'

The Times also spoke to one theater owner, who asked to remain anonymous, that called the reference to the 9/11 attacks a 'game changer.'

Patrick Corcoran, spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, wouldn't comment on the threats.

Mail Online has contacted cinema groups including Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark for comment.

All three companies experienced a drop in their stock price after the threat was announced.

The chief executive of Sony Entertainment, Michael Lynton, sent an email to employees on Tuesday in which he told staff to ‘remain vigilant.’

‘We are aware of the latest threat and are working closely with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Please remain vigilant,’ he wrote.

The FBI has confirmed that it is looking into the credibility of the threat, with a spokesperson saying; 'The FBI is aware of recent threats and continues to work collaboratively with our partners to investigate.'

However a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security has said that they don't believe that the threats are credible.

'We are still analyzing the credibility of these statements, but at this time there is no credible intelligence to indicate an active plot against movie theaters within the United States,' said the spokesperson.

Laying low? On Wednesday night, Franco was seen leaving a restaurant in New York wearing a hat and scarf while holding some headphones

Not backing down: Sony has also said that despite the threat, they will still be distributing the film

The Interview is a comedy in which Rogen and Franco star as television journalists involved in a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Speculation about a North Korean link to the Sony hacking has centered on that country's angry denunciation of the film.

Over the summer, North Korea warned that the film's release would be an ‘act of war that we will never tolerate,' threatening a ‘merciless’ retaliation.

The FBI has said that it is investigating the attack but has declined to comment on whether North Korea or another country was behind the attack.

As the Times points out in their article, a film depicting the murder of a sitting world leader is almost unprecedented.

HACKERS' CHILLING WARNING THREATENS CINEMA ATTACKS The Guardians of Peace threat released on Tuesday reads: Warning We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places The Interview be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to. 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.) Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment. All the world will denounce the SONY. Advertisement

Some in the industry are also saying major theater chains that are publicly traded companies may not be able to even show the movie for fear of serious legal repercussions should these threats ultimately be true.

'If something does happen at theaters showing The Interview, today’s hacker threat means that no one can say they didn’t know or at the very least have a reasonable expectation, explains Deadline.

And that means that any victims or their families could sue the theater or theater chain, and would likely win.

This is much different than the mass shooting that happened in an Aurora, Colorado theater during a 2012 screening The Dark Knight Rises as neither the studio, Paramount, or the theater had any idea that there would be an incident of such horrific violence.

That has not stopped many from suing the Cinemark owned Aurora Century 16 multiplex though, citing the lack of security on the premises which allowed shooter James Eagan Holmes to open fire during a midnight screening, killing 12 and injuring 70.

And there is a very good chance they will win their cases, as over the summer a judge in Colorado ruled against Cinemark's attempts to dismiss these lawsuits.

'This is a horror show that doesn’t seem to end,' long time media investor Harold Vogel told Deadline.

'Why can’t this picture just be pulled off totally? Why do you need this headache? There are plenty of other pictures out there. All these things are made in the self-reflective echo chamber of Hollywood.'

Not happy: Other studios like Disney, who is releasing Into the Woods (above) on Christmas, could also be affected by these threats

Angie: The highly anticpated Unbroken, directed by Angelina Jolie, is also set to be released on Christmas

The famous water tower at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California

This threat is also problematic for other studios releasing tent-pole films on Christmas.

There are three other major releases on the holiday; Disney's Into the Woods, Universal's Unbroken and Paramount's The Gambler.

Fear among the public to go to theaters showing The Interview will no doubt affect the box office of these films as well.

Also not helping the film may be the reviews coming in, that are decidedly mixed.

USA Today's Claudia Puig writes; 'Considering the controversy and chaos Sony Pictures Studios is undergoing because of it, The Interview fails to live up to the hype, floundering as a rowdy comedy as it grows duller by the minute.'