Less than a week ago, Sony indicated that, under pressure of threats, the moviegoing public wasn't going to be able to see the comedy "The Interview" at a theater today. But that decision hit quickly on a trip wire of criticisms about geopolitics, freedom of expression, terrorism and more.

And in a quick reversal of fortune, the movie opened in more than 300 locations today, mostly at small independent art house theaters.

JOSH LEVIN, West End Cinemas: Christmas Day is usually a busy day for the movies, but this is unlike any experience we have ever had before.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Even before the first screenings, the film was selling out at smaller theaters. Co-star and co-director Seth Rogen made a surprise appearance at a midnight screening in Los Angeles.

SETH ROGEN, Actor: We thought this might never happen at all.

HARI SREENIVASAN: President Obama, who was on vacation in Hawaii and criticized Sony's initial decision, wouldn't say if he would watch, but he said:

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I'm glad it's being released.

HARI SREENIVASAN: The release of the comedy, about a CIA plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, was canceled last week after hackers threatened potential attacks at theaters. The president has said North Korea is behind the hacking of Sony.

Moviegoers were out early at Washington, D.C.'s West End Cinemas, including Mohammed Shouman.

MOHAMMED SHOUMAN, Washington, D.C.: I decided to show my personal support for theaters that show it and my personal support for free speech.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Sarah Arlinghaus admitted the Rogen/Franco style wasn't her usual movie fare.

SARAH ARLINGHAUS, Washington, D.C.: I wouldn't have seen it if the North Koreans hadn't decided I shouldn't see it. I would like to sit near the exits just in case we have to evacuate quickly.

HARI SREENIVASAN: "The Interview" is also available as video on demand. It can be seen on Google Play, YouTube Movies, and Microsoft's Xbox.

Still, before major exhibitors pulled out, the movie was originally scheduled to play in 3,000 theaters.

Art House Convergence, a coalition of about 250 independent theaters, wrote an open letter to Sony earlier this week offering to show the movie.

I spoke to the group's director, Russ Collins, yesterday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he also runs the State Theatre, that's showing it today.

Russ Collins, why did so many of the members of your organization, the independent theaters, decide to run this movie?

RUSS COLLINS, Conference Director, Art House Convergence: There were two reasons.

One, we initially reached out to the employees and Sony Corporation, but their employees in particular, who are the folks that we have the interface with, just to express our empathy for the difficulties that they have encountered the last month after their company was hacked and their e-mails went down and their telephone went down and all of their records went down.

It's just been a very, very difficult time for Sony employees. And we just wanted to express how we felt and that we wanted to support them. And one of the ways we could support them is, if Sony decided to release "The Interview," we as independent theaters would be willing to screen that, or at least we thought we might.

And when the word got out among the Art House Convergence group that this might be a possibility or something that we could offer, they were enthusiastic in their response, and it just kind of took off from there.

HARI SREENIVASAN: OK. No disrespect but a Seth Rogen movie and an Art House Convergence group usually don't go in the same sentence. This isn't usually the fare of an independent movie house.

RUSS COLLINS: That's absolutely true.

Independent movie houses are dedicated to a diversity of programs, documentary films, foreign language films, independent American films, classic films, but we're also strongly committed to freedom of speech and artistic expression dynamics.

This is something that art houses do this on a regular basis. And when this particular exhibition became a freedom of speech issue, it aligned with the values of independent theaters, so making the offer seemed to work with our values and our capabilities and the diversity of the programs and facilities and locations that are out there in North America for independent cinema.

HARI SREENIVASAN: So one of the things that people might be thinking about, whether they're going to see this movie at one of your theaters or a different one, is, are there additional safety precautions that you're taking into consideration?

RUSS COLLINS: We're encouraging each of our theaters to consult with their local law enforcement officials, have the law enforcement officials work their channels to see if there is any concerns.

In our particular case, the University of Michigan has a Korean studies program and we have contacted them to get their input. So we are out there concerned and vigilant about seeking any unusual telemetry about unusual behavior.

So far, we haven't encountered any, at least in our particular market, but I'm sure theaters are going to do what they need to do to assure that their customers and their employees are safe at these screenings.

HARI SREENIVASAN: We have seen reports that some screenings of this movie are selling out. And I look at some of the Web sites like Rotten Tomatoes and so forth, and it's not particularly because this movie is Oscar-worthy, to put it mildly. Do you think it's — is it because of the publicity that there are people attracted to this?

RUSS COLLINS: I think there's two reasons.

One is that, when the initial release was planned, they looked to screen it at 2,000 to 3,000 to 4,000 screens. The way it's turning out, it's going to be 200 or 300 screens that are actually showing "The Interview."

But, obviously, all of the national press that's occurred and all of the issues about the film have resonated a particular interest in the notion of this film and the difficulties that Sony has encountered. So I think there's a lot of curiosity. That curiosity will be satiated very quickly, and the film will live and die and be successful and have a long life based depending on how it's received, and both critically and by audiences.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Is this an opportunity? Do you see this as an opportunity for more people to kind of reintroduce themselves to the independent or small theaters that are in their neighborhoods vs. the big chains that usually run a movie like this?

RUSS COLLINS: Yes, independent theaters, art houses are out there all over the country. The objective of the Art House Convergence is to increase the quantity and quality of art houses.

So, yes, this might be a nice introduction to customers who are more interested in going to a Seth Rogen stoner comedy than those who tend to go to the art house fare. However, who knows. This could be the "Citizen Kane" of stoner comedies.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Right.

What about the competition with perhaps the streaming sites? I know that, I think, sites like YouTube and a couple of others are planning to make this available to people. So, really, is the competition shifting away from AMC and Regal vs. art house to art house vs. streaming?

RUSS COLLINS: Well, in the art house market, video on demand, day-and-date of video on demand and theatrical screenings has occurred for a couple of years now. So, we're used to that.

Obviously, we like complete theatrical clearance. If you have a monopoly, you tend to do better. But that's part of the modern cinema world is day-and-date release and all the diversity, availability through online and cable access.

HARI SREENIVASAN: All right, Russ Collins, thanks so much for your time.

RUSS COLLINS: Thank you. And happy holidays.