Yesterday, Sony made “The Interview” available online through Google Play, YouTube Movies, and Xbox Video. Unfortunately, the film was restricted to the U.S. only, so viewers in other countries either had to celebrate Christmas with a Yule Log video or run off to a torrent site.
Not surprisingly, many decided to illegally download the film. According to Torrent Freak, “The Interview” has been downloaded an estimated 750,000 times after 20 hours.
It’s unclear why Sony decided to make The Interview’s online release U.S. only, considering how much attention the movie has gained worldwide.
Then again, the company has already faced unprecedented obstacles, including a hacking that the FBI has blamed on North Korea (though many security experts believe it was actually an inside job) and terrorist threats against theaters that screen “The Interview,” so a slow and cautious roll-out probably makes sense.
We’ve emailed Sony to ask about The Interview’s international release schedule.