Sony Pictures will release The Interview online on Wednesday in the US via several streaming outlets, a day before the film will appear in about 300 cinemas.
The deal to make the film available for rent on Google Play, YouTube, Microsoft’s Xbox video service and a dedicated Sony website marks a further change of fortunes for the comedy about an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which sparked a hacking attack on Sony, threats against cinemas and tensions between North Korea and the US.
“It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,” said Michael Lynton, chairman and chief executive of Sony Entertainment.