General Manager Brandon Delaney looks up at the marquee sign after the announcement that the Plaza Theatre would be showing the movie "The Interview" beginning Christmas Day in Atlanta
General Manager Brandon Delaney looks up at the marquee sign after the announcement that the Plaza Theatre would be showing the movie "The Interview" beginning Christmas Day in Atlanta, Georgia December 23, 2014. Sony Pictures said on Tuesday it will release "The Interview" to a limited number of theaters on Dec. 25, less than a week after it canceled the comedy's release following a devastating cyberattack blamed on North Korea. REUTERS/Tami Chappell

U.S. President Barack Obama appreciated Sony Pictures Entertainment's decision to release "The Interview." The Hollywood production company said that it would screen the movie in a limited number of theatres.

Sony decided to release the controversial movie on Christmas as scheduled earlier. The comedy, which shows a humorous take on the assassination of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, created controversy as the Asian nation allegedly prompted a cyber-attack on the U.S. company as retaliation for the comedic depiction in the movie. Sony earlier decided that it would not release the movie after hackers had warned a 9/11-like attack on theatres which would screen the movie. However, a renewed decision on the behalf of the company now suggests that it is going to release the movie. The White House welcomed the decision to release the movie. White House spokesman Eric Schultz says that the decision would allow individuals to decide about the film on their own. He also says that the United States believes in the right of artistic expression and free speech. According to the White House, Sony informed about the deliberations of the company over the weekend, ABC News reports.

Schultz adds that U.S. President Barack Obama has sent his message of appreciation from Hawaii where he is vacationing. "As the president made clear, we are a country that believes in free speech, and the right of artistic expression," Politico quoted Schultz, "The decision made by Sony and participating theatres allows people to make their own choices about the film, and we welcome that outcome." Obama earlier said that it had been "a mistake" on the company's part to withdraw the decision to release the film. He said that the decision would give people an impression that someone overseas could control the decision of a U.S. company. Even though he called the hacking incident as an act of "cyber-vandalism," he refused to believe that it was "an act of war" on North Korea's part against the United States.

Schultz, on the other hand, did not clarify if the U.S. president had plans to watch the movie at the White House.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@IBTimes.com.au

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