Sony releases 'The Interview' online

Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Wednesday that 'The Interview'  would be available online for viewers. Online availability comes a day before the limited theatrical Christmas Day release the comedy, which the company announced earlier in the week.

Sony Pictures Entertainment said in a press release Wednesday that starting on Christmas Eve Seth Rogen's North Korea farce would be available to rent on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and the dedicated website  www.seetheinterview.com.

Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton said Wednesday that the company had "reached out to Google and Microsoft" on Dec. 17 "when it became clear that our initial release plans were not possible."

"We have never given up on releasing The Interview and we're excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day," said Lynton in a statement Tuesday, adding that the company was continuing its efforts to release the film on more platforms and in more theaters.

Sony's original decision to cancel the film's release sparked criticism from both Hollywood and the White House. President Obama said last week that Sony "made a mistake" by pulling the film.

“We cannot have a society in which some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States,” he said at the time.

Hollywood actor George Clooney also went after Sony for pulling the film.

"Here, we’re talking about an actual country deciding what content we’re going to have. This affects not just movies, this affects every part of business that we have," he told Deadline Hollywood last week. "That’s the truth. What happens if a newsroom decides to go with a story, and a country or an individual or corporation decides they don’t like it?"

The screwball comedy about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jong Un may have led to a cyber attack on the studio, which the U.S. government has blamed on North Korea.

The founder of the Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain, Tim League, wrote on Twitter that Sony authorized the theater to screen the film. A spokeswoman for the theater chain confirmed the tweet.

A Sony employee told Al Jazeera that "The Interview" will likely be released in approximately 300 to 500 independent theaters. It remains unclear if major movie theaters that had decided not to open the film last week owing to security concerns would join the group of authorized exhibitors.

Al Jazeera and wire services