In a more human calculus, a significant loser in the hacking may be Seth Rogen, the writer-director-star who became the principal public face of “The Interview.” There was a growing sentiment on the Sony lot that Mr. Rogen and his filmmaking colleagues had exposed employees and the audience to digital damage and physical threat by pushing his outrageous humor to the limit and backing the film to the last.

The impression that Mr. Rogen overreached was enforced by the publication of an email in which he reprimanded Ms. Pascal for pressing for relatively minor changes in the assassination scene. “This is now a story of Americans changing their movie to make North Koreans happy,” Mr. Rogen wrote. “It’s a very damning story.”

Mr. Rogen on Thursday declined through a spokesman to comment. Among his future projects at Sony is “Sausage Party,” an R-rated animated film about a frankfurter’s existential crisis.

The strains between Mr. Rogen and Ms. Pascal unraveled only one thread in a Hollywood fabric that was thoroughly shredded by the hacking and ensuing threat. Much of the damage centered on the action, or lack thereof, among high industry executives who never stepped forward to assist Sony.

Wednesday’s decision to withdraw the film brought public silence from the Motion Picture Association of America and its chief executive, Christopher J. Dodd, who had remained quiet through a three-week media onslaught on Sony. People associated with Mr. Dodd, speaking privately, said he failed to mobilize competing studio chiefs in support of the studio, partly because they feared drawing attention to themselves and partly because they doubted that public statements or actions would be effective.

That failure has drawn criticism from senior theater executives, who — again privately, as they will need to work with Mr. Dodd and the studios — blame the trade association and Sony for pushing onto them the onus for canceling the film, rather than Sony’s taking responsibility for a decision that was sure to offend some freedom-minded filmmakers. Sony sees it differently, having received clear signals that the theater chains simply did not want the movie.

Another set of broken or bruised relationships involves black stars and filmmakers, a group with whom Sony formerly had very sturdy ties. More than a few black moviemakers — notably Kevin Hart, Will Packer, Ice Cube and Will Smith — have flourished at Sony under Ms. Pascal and Clint Culpepper, who runs Sony’s Screen Gems unit.