UPDATE (Friday, Dec. 26, 9:27 a.m. ET): Fans attending as Christmas Day screening of The Interview received a little something extra in their stockings when co-directors Seth Rogen (who also stars) and Evan Peters made a surprise appearance, joined by actor Randall Park, who plays North Korean dictator Kim Jung Un in the controversial comedy.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the trio was loaded with Interview swag, including T-shirts and rocket-shaped water bottles, which they tossed to members of the audience.

“There was a real chance that this wasn’t going to happen, which is really bizarre,”; Rogen told the crowd. “But it did happen, because people like you seem to want it to happen and we really appreciate that. So honestly, thank you so much. We hope you liked it.”;

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UPDATE (Wednesday, Dec. 24, 12:39 p.m. ET): The Interview may not be getting the wide theatrical release that was planned, but the controversial comedy will be available online, starting today at 1 p.m. EST.

The Interview will be available to rent in HD on Google Play, YouTube Movies, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and the dedicated website SeeTheInterview.com, Sony announced today. Viewers can rent the film for $5.99, or purchase an HD copy for $14.99.

“It has always been Sony’s intention to have a national platform on which to release this film,”; said Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment, in a statement. “With that in mind, we reached out to Google, Microsoft and other partners last Wednesday, December 17th, when it became clear our initial release plans were not possible. We are pleased we can now join with our partners to offer the film nation-wide today.

In addition, Lynton added that The Interview will be screened in more than 300 theatres in the U.S. on Christmas Day.

Canadians, however, are still out of luck. “While we do hope to see the release of The Interview across the globe, for the time being this is limited to the USA only,”; reads a notice on the SeeTheInterview website. “You can only purchase the movie with a US [credit] card, and can only stream it from a US IP address.”;

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UPDATE (Dec 24, 10:57 a.m. ET) A rep for Sony Canada confirms that although The Interview will be screening in limited release in some theatres in America, there are no plans to release the film in Canadian cinemas on Christmas Day.

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UPDATE (Dec. 23, 1:50 p.m. ET): Sony has reversed its decision to not release The Interview, stating the controversial Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy will receive a limited release on Christmas Day.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony chairman and CEO Michael Lynton anounced this morning that the film will be released “in a number of theatres”; on Dec. 25.

“We have never given up on releasing The Interview and we’re excited our movie will be in a number of theaters on Christmas Day,”; said Lynton in a statement. “At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theatres so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.”;

The film’s stars are equally excited, releasing their own statements on social media.

THR is also reporting that the studio has told theatres that The Interview will also be released simultaneously on Video on Demand at the same time as the release. At this time, however, it’s not known on what platform the VOD release will take place (Sony’s Crackle website would seem an obvious choice) or whether there will be any Canadian theatres showing The Interview.

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UPDATE (December 21, 2014 4:16 pm ET): David Boies, a lawyer for Sony Pictures, gave the following statement about The Interview during an appearance on Sunday morning’s Meet the Press.

“Sony only delayed this. Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed. How it’s going to be distributed, I don’t think anybody knows quite yet. But it’s going to be distributed… And what Sony has been trying to do is to get the picture out to the public. But, at the same time, be sure that the rights of its employees and the rights of the movie-going public are protected.”

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UPDATE (December 20, 2014 4:08 pm ET): Sony Pictures appears to have bowed to the Guardians of Peace once again. The film studio has deleted practically all information pertaining to The Interview from numerous social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. The move comes a day after the hacker group threatened Sony execs, saying, “We want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately.”;

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UPDATE (December 20, 2014 3:24 pm ET): Despite U.S. assertion that Kim Jong-un’s administration is responsible for the recent cyberattack on Sony Pictures, North Korea continues to deny involvement.

“Whoever is going to frame our country for a crime should present concrete evidence,”; the nation’s state-run news agency reported on Saturday. “America’s childish investigation result and its attempt to frame us for this crime shows their hostile tendency towards us.”;

Despite the heightened rhetoric, North Korea has offered an olive branch of sorts. In an unprecedented move, the country suggested a bilateral investigation into the incident. “While America has been criticized by its own public and continues to point the finger at us, we suggest mutual investigation with America on this case.”;

There was one caveat, however: “If America refuses our proposal of mutual investigation, continues to link us to this case, and talk about actions in response, they will be met with serious consequences.”;

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UPDATE (December 18, 2014 6:42 pm ET): The White House says new evidence suggests the Sony Pictures email hack was executed by a “sophisticated actor” with “malicious intent.”

Although an anonymous U.S. official claims federal investigators have linked North Korea to the attack, White House spokesman Josh Earnest has stopped short of accusing the nation’s government. Earnest says it would be inappropriate to make assumptions before Justice Department and FBI investigations are complete.

Sony has cancelled The Interview’s Christmas Day release in the wake of recent terrorist threats.

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UPDATE (December 17, 2014 7:27 pm ET): U.S. intelligence officers have determined that North Korea was “centrally involved” in the cyber hacking of Sony Pictures. The government is placing the blame on hackers hired by the Pyongyang regime but has not gone on the record with the announcement, The New York Times reports.

The news comes hours after Sony Pictures cancelled the release of The Interview. Slated for a Christmas day opening, the comedy tells the story of an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The latest threat against Sony came this week when the company was told that “the world will be full of fear” if it went ahead with its release of the film. “Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time,” the statement continued.

Sony Pictures, meanwhile, has announced that it has no plans to release The Interview in the near future. “Sony Pictures has no further release plans for the film,” a spokesperson for the studio told Deadline on Wednesday.

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UPDATE (December 17, 2014 5:00 pm ET): Sony Pictures has cancelled the December 25 release of “The Interview”; to theatres, releasing the following statement:

“In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers.

Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale – all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”

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UPDATE (December 17 3:46 pm ET): Canada’s largest theatre franchise has pulled schedules for Seth Rogen and James Franco’s latest film from both Cineplex and Rainbow websites.

Releasing a written statement, the cinema chain said that they will be postponing showings of the film “after careful consideration of this unprecedented and complex situation.”;

“Cineplex takes seriously its commitment to the freedom of artistic expression, but we want to reassure our guests and staff that their safety and security is our number one priority. We look forward to a time when this situation is resolved and those responsible are apprehended,”; Cineplex Vice President of Communications at Cineplex said in a statement. The company also tweeted:

Due to major U.S. theatre chains dropping or delaying the film, Sony Pictures Entertainment is weighing releasing the highly controversial film on premium video-on-demand, Variety is reporting.

AMC, Regal and Carmike, the majority of America’s cinema chains will not show the film on December 25, even though Sony still plans to make the film available to theatres on the date should they choose to exhibit it.

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After the organization behind the Sony Pictures Entertainment cyber attack released a terrorist threat against any and all theatres who screen Seth Rogen and James Franco’s new comedyThe Interview, Sony has released a statement saying it will support concerned theatre owners who choose to cancel their screenings.

“We’re leaving it up to the discretion of the theatre owners and chains and we will support their decision,”; a Sony source confirmed to Deadline.

Hackers threatened moviegoers in a message release Tuesday, December 16, sending Sony and exhibitors into emergency discussions on how best to handle the new risk.

The National Association of Theatre Owners has not publically revealed its plans to address the terrorist threat, but Seth Rogen and James Franco have cancelled all of their press appearances as well as the New York premiere of the film. Both Homeland Security and the FBI have made statements regarding the threat.

Carmike Cinemas was the first American chain of theatres to pull the film.  The franchise operates 278 theatres and 2917 screens in 41 states, making it one of the largest exhibitors in the U.S.  After Carmike announced they would be pulling the film, employees at California’s ArcLight Cinemas told Deadline the theatre chain would also be removing the film from its schedule, but later a corporate rep told the outlet that company execs had not yet made a decision on whether to show the film or not.  She said the employees in question had given “inaccurate”; statements and that an official company statement is expected today.

Sony had no comment.

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