Dennis Lavalle holds a ticket and a poster of the film "The Interview" starring actors Seth Rogen and James Franco as he attends the Christmas Day screening of "The Interview" in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles, California December
Dennis Lavalle holds a ticket and a poster of the film "The Interview" starring actors Seth Rogen and James Franco as he attends the Christmas Day screening of "The Interview" in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles, California December 25, 2014. "The Interview," the Sony Pictures film about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, opened in more than 300 movie theaters across the United States on Christmas Day, drawing many sell-out audiences and statements by patrons that they were championing freedom of expression. REUTERS/Kevork Djansezian

"The Interview" ends up being shown in independent theatres across the United States after Sony Pictures decided to cancel the movie's theatrical release due to threats from hackers. But what's interesting is that the controversial film is now made available on digital platforms such as YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video and Sony-built website, SeeTheInterview.com.

According to Apple Insider, the tech titan first declined an exclusive offer to release the movie on Christmas Day. But then again, Apple has agreed to offer streaming and download sales of the film top-billed by Seth Rogen and James Franco. Now with iTunes, consumers in the U.S. and Canada can take a look at the vulgar comedy.

"The Interview" is not yet available for streaming outside of North America. But based on BGR's report, many downloads have originated outside of the United States and it appears that the controversial movie has also turned out to be the most downloaded movie on illegal file-sharing sites. The film was downloaded around 200,000 times via BitTorrent in the first 10 hours upon its release. Apparently, the number of downloads have exceeded 750,000 after 20 hours. Furthermore, the number of active shares has reached close to 100,000.

Sony's hacking scandal has enticed the interest for "The Interview" and apparently, the comedy film became an instant must-watch for many people not only in the U.S. but around the world as well. Earlier, hackers that hide by the name "Guardians of Peace" forced the firm to cancel the film and even threatened physical terrorist attacks against theatres that will show the film in the U.S. Such incident has directed Sony to ditch the film's release. After that, the company has then decided to simultaneously release the movie online and in select theatres.

Finally, the controversial comedy film has made more than US$15 million during the holiday weekend coming from online purchases and rentals alone compared to the US$2.8 million box-office income. "The Interview" is available on iTunes for $6 to rent or $15 to buy in the U.S.

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