Sony pictures has pulled The Interview from its Dec. 25 release date, the studio said in a statement on Wednesday.

The decision was the depressing climax to a weeks-long nightmare after Sony Pictures Entertainment suffered on Nov. 24 a massive and unprecedented hack of roughly 100TB of embarrassing, sensitive, and confidential data. On Monday, the group claiming responsibility for the hack, whose members call themselves the Guardians of Peace, threatened theaters that plan on showing the film The Interview — which depicts the assassination of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. "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," the group said in a statement. "Remember the 11th of September 2001."

Evoking the 9/11 attacks for a movie scheduled for release on Christmas appeared to be the rhetorical touch necessary to doom the movie from reaching theaters. Sony canceled all press for the film, including its New York premiere, and reportedly told exhibitors that the studio would not object if they chose not to screen the movie. Within 24 hours, that is exactly what happened, with the top four theater chains — Regal, AMC, Cinemark, and Carmike — all electing to pull the film from their theaters.

Without exhibitor support, it was an almost foregone conclusion that Sony would have no choice but to pull the film outright.