Sony Sets Online Release Plan for ‘The Interview’

Sony confirmed its plans to release The Interview online on Wednesday, Dec. 24, a day before the controversial film's original premiere date.

The studio will make the Seth Rogen-James Franco film available beginning at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday across a number of platforms, including Google Play, YouTube, Microsoft’s Xbox and a dedicated website seetheinterview.com. Viewers can rent the film for $5.99 or purchase it for $14.99.

“It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,” said Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment. “With that in mind, we reached out to Google, Microsoft and other partners last Wednesday, December 17th, when it became clear our initial release plans were not possible. We are pleased we can now join with our partners to offer the film nation-wide today.”

On Tuesday, Sony said it would go ahead and release the film, which portrays the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim-Jong Un, on Christmas Day in a limited capacity. Last week the studio shelved the film in the wake of a cyber attack and threats by hackers that the FBI confirmed to be connected to the North Korean dictatorship.