Controversial Seth Rogen comedy The Interview to get a theatrical release in Australia

AFTER becoming the trigger for a hacking scandal that shocked the world, Sony Pictures is set to release Seth Rogen’s comedy The Interview in Australia.

SONY Pictures is set to release controversial Seth Rogen comedy The Interview in Australia next month after a successful theatrical and VOD release in North America.

Local distribution was put on hold when US theatre chains decided to pull the film because of threats of violence from the group responsible for a string of devastating cyberattacks on the company.

The FBI later identified the hackers as having North Korean links.

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Back on track ... Franco (left) and Rogen in The Interview. Picture: Supplied.

Following criticism from US president Barack Obama, Sony Pictures then reversed its initial decision, making the film available for rent across a variety of digital platforms. The Interview also opened on limited theatrical release on Christmas Day.

Co-starring James Franco, and initially slated for a January 22 release in Australia, the film tells the story of a pair of television journalists who are recruited to kill North Korean dictator Kim John Un.

The Interview will finally get a cinema showing in Australia. Picture: AFP PHOTO / Robyn Beck

It will now open in cinemas on February 12 on close to the originally planned 170 screens.

“It’s a solid multiplex release. All the exhibitors are on board,’’ said Libby Rhys Jones, national marketing director for Sony Pictures Releasing in Australia.

“Australians are big fans of Seth and James. We are giving them the opportunity to see it in the cinema if they want to.”

Originally published as Controversial Seth Rogen comedy The Interview to get a theatrical release in Australia