The controversial film The Interview has become Sony's best ever online release, generating more than $US15 million in the first four days of its release.
Sony said more the film, which parodies North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, was downloaded more than 2 million times since it's release on Christmas Day.
The film has also brought in $2.8 million in the limited theatrical run that began Christmas Day in more than 300 mostly independent theaters, according to tracking firm Rentrak.
Sony is likely to reap larger receipts.
The company's first online revenue figures do not include Apple's iTunes purchases or rentals after Apple agreed on Sunday to carry the movie on iTunes, the biggest and most-used store of online content.
The $44 million film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco had been expected to gross at least $20 million in its opening holiday weekend if it had gone to wide release, according to Boxoffice.com.
The future of The Interview was in doubt after large cinema chains refused to show the film due to '9/11-style' threats made by the hackers, who the FBI says are linked to North Korea.
Sony soon afterwards cancelled the film's release altogether and removed mention of it from its websites.
But that decision drew widespread criticism, including from Obama, who chastised Sony for what he deemed "a mistake" that went against American principles of free speech.
The film was released in more than 300 US cinemas and on several digital platforms. The unusual release marks one of the first times a studio movie will be shown simultaneously in theatres and video on demand.
It's the latest twist to a crisis that has engulfed the studio and The Interview, a screwball romp about a fictional plot by two US journalists embarking on a mission to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
North Korea has been accused by the United States government of launching a crippling cyber attack on Sony which saw the release of a trove of embarrassing emails, scripts and other internal communications, including information about salaries and employee health records.
Pyongyang has repeatedly denied involvement in the hack but has applauded the actions of a shadowy online group which claimed responsibility for the cyber attack, the self-styled "Guardians of Peace".
Share
