UPDATE 2:00 p.m. PST: Sony has pulled The Interview from theatrical release. Statement from the studio is below:

In light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film The Interview, we have decided not to move forward with the planned December 25 theatrical release. We respect and understand our partners’ decision and, of course, completely share their paramount interest in the safety of employees and theater-goers. Sony Pictures has been the victim of an unprecedented criminal assault against our employees, our customers, and our business. Those who attacked us stole our intellectual property, private emails, and sensitive and proprietary material, and sought to destroy our spirit and our morale — all apparently to thwart the release of a movie they did not like. We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public. We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.

EARLIER:

LOS ANGELES — North America's top five theater chains have bowed out of The Interview, choosing not to show the comedy after hackers that have bedeviled Sony Pictures for nearly a month vaguely threatened attacks against any cinemas that show it, Mashable has confirmed.

The mass defection reportedly has spurred talks within Sony of a premium VOD release, something the major studios have been wanting for years to try anyway. And there was even more fallout Wednesday as New Regency reportedly was scrapping plans to start shooting a North Korea-based thriller starring Steve Carrell in March.

SEE ALSO: Sony nails 'The Interview' at festive, hack-free world premiere

Regal, AMC, Cinemark and Cineplex on Wednesday joined Carmike, which made its decision Tuesday night. The top five, which hold a vast chunk of U.S. theaters, caved in the face of the hackers' threat, which the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday was not credible. Smaller chains like Marcus Theatres and Harkins Theatres had not responded to Mashable's requests for comment.

Sony did not immediately comment on the development. AMC, the second-largest chain behind Regal, issued a statement that smacked of exasperation and seemed to telegraph that Sony was wavering on its decision to release The Interview at all:

As friends and families make plans for the upcoming holidays, AMC has received many questions about which movies we are playing in the weeks ahead. The recent cancellation of The Interview's premiere and publicity appearances by its leading talent, and the overall confusion and uncertainty that has been created in the marketplace, brings into serious doubt whether the movie will open at all next week. At this time, to best enable AMC guests to plan their holiday movie-going with certainty and confidence, AMC is programming its theatres without The Interview.

Toronto-based Cineplex, tweeted about its decision, citing concern for "your safety."

Your safety is our top priority. We have decided to postpone The Interview. http://t.co/aHhWvSxtuy — Cineplex (@CineplexMovies) December 17, 2014

The five chains represent nearly 22,000 screens at roughly 1,600 locations across the U.S., nearly enough alone to open a film in what's considered a wide release all by themselves. Sony quietly told exhibitors on Tuesday night that it was going ahead with The Interview as planned, but that individual theater chains could decide for themselves whether to show it.

The threat came Tuesday along with a new batch of hacked emails, mostly from the keyboard of Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton. Though those emails have yielded nothing like the trove of embarrassing correspondence from the past few weeks, they came with this ominous message:

Warning We will clearly show it to you at the very time and places “The Interview” be shown, including the premiere, how bitter fate those who seek fun in terror should be doomed to. Soon all the world will see what an awful movie Sony Pictures Entertainment has made. The world will be full of fear. Remember the 11th of September 2001. We recommend you to keep yourself distant from the places at that time. (If your house is nearby, you’d better leave.) Whatever comes in the coming days is called by the greed of Sony Pictures Entertainment. All the world will denounce the SONY.

In the hours that followed, reports surfaced that Sony was considering scrapping the movie, but that turned out to be false; instead, the studio told the National Association of Theater Owners that it was up to theaters to decide. Their decision drew sharp rebuke Wednesday from Hollywood elite, including Judd Apatow, who's been a vocal opponent of the media's dissemination of leaked documents from Sony:

I think it is disgraceful that these theaters are not showing The Interview. Will they pull any movie that gets an anonymous threat now? — Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) December 17, 2014

. @JuddApatow I agree wholeheartedly. An un-American act of cowardice that validates terrorist actions and sets a terrifying precedent. — Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) December 17, 2014

This story is developing ...