It took them a few days to join the party, but Apple Inc. have now announced that starting December 28, U.S. and Canada iTunes users have the option to rent or buy “The Interview” movie. Apple will join the likes of Google Play, YouTube and Xbox, who announced on December 24 that they would make Sony Corp.’s controversial movie available for download. Since Wednesday, the “The Interview” was also available on a Sony dedicated site.

For iTune users, the cost to rent the movie is $5.99, or you can own it for $14.99.

According to Sony, since being made available online on December 24, the movie has been downloaded or rented more than 2 million times, generating over $15 million in sales. Torrent Freak also confirmed that, in the first two days, the movie was pirated an estimated 1.5 million times.

After five of the top theater chains refused to screen the movie due to threats from the hacker group Guardians of Peace (GOP), Sony decided to cancel the premiere. However, after President Obama said the decision was a mistake, Sony did release the movie in 300 independent U.S. movie theaters on Christmas Day. According to Reuters, “The Interview” has already earned $2.8 million in theaters.

North Korea has denied all involvement in the hack on Sony Pictures, which initially sparked the cancellation of “The Interview”, but have expressed outrage over the movie. North Korea has blamed the U.S. over recent internet shutdowns in the country and compared President Obama to a monkey.

It is unclear whether Sony will cover the cost of $44 million to make the movie, plus an estimated $30m – $40m for marketing and the movie’s stars. However, with the amount of hype and controversy surrounding the movie, the money is likely to keep rolling in.

photo credit: Elias Rovielo via photopin cc