"The Interview" almost never saw the light of day, but as soon as it became available through legitimate streaming services, so did the illegal downloads.
The Sony Pictures movie surpassed 750,000 downloads on torrent websites in the first 20 hours of the film's release online, according to TorrentFreak. The torrent sites also distributed the film to users overseas, who couldn't access the movie legally.
At least 300,000 of the illegal downloads came from Chinese file-sharing sites, according to The New York Times. Many of the sites translated the title of Seth Rogen-James Franco comedy as "Assassinate Kim Jong-un."
YouTube, Google Play, XBox and the website SeetheInterview.com all have "The Interview" available to rent for $5.99 or to buy an HD copy for $14.99. The movie shot to the top of the charts for Google and YouTube. Another hacking scandal targeting XBox systems, hindered the downloads for the console.
"The Interview" also premiered in more than 300 independent theaters. The limited release produced a more than $1 million gross on Christmas Day.
"Considering the incredibly challenging circumstances, we are extremely grateful to the people all over the country who came out to experience 'The Interview' on the first day of its unconventional release," Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures president of distribution, said in a statement.
Sony Pictures previously pulled the film's release when hackers made grave threats against theaters that planned to screen the movie. Public pressure and support from independent theaters finally convinced the studio to put the film back in theaters and online.
