Sony has authorized screenings of "The Interview" on Christmas Day in the latest twist in the showdown with North Korean hackers.

The movie will have a limited theatrical release in the US. According to The Wrap, Sony may also announce a video-on-demand release for the film.

"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 Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Entertainment, in a statement. "At the same time, we are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.

"I want to thank our talent on The Interview and our employees, who have worked tirelessly through the many challenges we have all faced over the last month," he added. "While we hope this is only the first step of the film's release, we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech."

The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, and The Plaza Atlanta in Georgia are among theaters that will release the film Christmas Day.

Director and star Seth Rogen and costar James Franco are claiming victory on Twitter:

The people have spoken! Freedom has prevailed! Sony didn't give up! The Interview will be shown at theaters willing to play it on Xmas day! — Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) December 23, 2014

VICTORY!!!!!!! The PEOPLE and THE PRESIDENT have spoken!!! SONY to release THE INTERVIEW in theaters… http://t.co/0KyZQAB6cf — James Franco (@JamesFrancoTV) December 23, 2014

The White House has also released a statement supporting Sony's decision to release the film:

JUST IN: White House statement: "The President applauds Sony's decision to authorize screenings of the film" #TheInterview — Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) December 23, 2014

"The Interview" is a comedy featuring Franco and Rogen as journalists visiting North Korea to interview dictator Kim Jong Un. The film culminates in the leader's fictional assassination.

Ahead of the movie's planned release, hackers targeted Sony Pictures Entertainment in an unprecedented and devastating cyber attack, which led to the release of thousands of sensitive emails of Sony executives and threats that the hackers would release more if the film's release wasn't canceled.

Everything from movie scripts to celebrity aliases and Sony employee salaries, medical records, and social security numbers were among the data leaked online.

You can see a list of leaked items here.

Hackers also targeted family members of Sony employees and theaters that planned to show the movie. As a result, big movie chains canceled screenings leading Sony to make the decision to pull the film from release on Dec. 25.

In a news conference last Friday, President Obama said Sony had made a "mistake" pulling "The Interview."

Since then, Sony has been looking for an outlet to distribute the comedy.

A deal to get the movie onto Dish Network fell apart for undisclosed reasons.

Earlier reports suggested Sony may have considered releasing the film on its free streaming platform, Crackle.