THE INTERVIEW Becomes Highest-Grossing Online Film of All Time

Despite the international controversy surrounding its release, the James Franco/Seth Rogen film THE INTERVIEW has already acrued $15 in online sales alone.

The film was made available on YouTube, Google Play, Xbox, and more online services on Christmas Eve and was released in select theatres on Christmas Day. Online, THE INTERVIEW has already been rented or purchased over 2 million times, as of Sunday afternoon, making it the highest-grossing online film in history.

In ticket sales from 331 independent theatres, THE INTERVIEW has grossed $2.8 million ever since its release three days ago.

THE INTERVIEW is also available on iTunes.

Following a hack on Sony Pictures, the film company responsible for THE INTERVIEW, the company received a threat saying that if they released the film, a "9/11-like" disaster would befall them. Many national chain cinemas thus cancelled the intended Christmas Day release last week.

Last week, Sony decided to pull the James Franco-Seth Rogan led film from theaters following threats of violence from hackers working for North Korea. In a speech last week, President Obama criticized the studio for being "intimidated by these kind of criminal attacks.' Sony responded that the cancellation came only after theater chains and other streaming sites refused to show the film.

Sony eventually decided to release THE INTERVIEW in select movie theatres on Christmas Day, as BroadwayWorld previously reported.

North Korea's National Defense accused President Obama of blackmailing theatres to show THE INTERVIEW, yesterday, as BroadwayWorld previously reported.

THE INTERVIEW follows Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) who run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show "Skylark Tonight." When they discover that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the two least-qualified men imaginable, to assassinate Kim Jong-un.

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