Most Pirated Films

Watching movies online is quite a different experience than watching them on the big screen — or even a television set, for that matter. There will always be a market for a well-produced DVD. However, there are so many disappointing films out these days that it can be tricky trying to decide which new movies are worth our hard-earned dollars. With two movie tickets edging up to $20, not including concessions, the “cheap date out” is now on par with other types of entertainment. There are many different levels for selecting movies these days. Is it worth seeing for full price? Is a matinee the better deal? Should I rent at Blockbuster or Redbox, or should I download? Here are some of the most pirated movies from 2008.

The Dark Knight was the biggest hit at the box office in 2008 and also the most pirated movie, according to data collected by www.torrentfreak.com. The movie raked in $1 billion at theaters worldwide but was also downloaded 7.03 million times. According to TorrentFreak, “Comments on various BitTorrent sites reveal that many downloaders obtained an illegal copy after they had already watched the movie in the movie theater.” Perhaps the window of time with films is interfering with the consumers’ desire to have immediate access. Thomas Rubin, chief counsel for Intellectual Property Strategy at Microsoft, suggests that many people download new movies and music not because they want to steal it for free, but because they want access and more flexible ways to consume it.

Yet even more prevalent than download sites are peer-to-peer sharing networks, which allow people access to other people’s downloaded films. File sharing networks like Pirate Bay and Mininova were responsible for 17 million shared copies of Watchmen, 13 million copies of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and an astounding number of shared TV shows like Heroes (54.5 million) and Lost (51 million). Authorities around the world are looking at new ways to curb illegal file sharing, going so far as to block internet users’ access if they’re caught downloading or issuing prison sentences for top offenders. Yet it seems that a little piracy does little damage to top movies like “Wolverine,” which grossed an easy $80 million in one weekend.

There are many places to find pirated films that are very high quality and available on-demand. Some of the top sites include www.mininova.org, www.isohunt.com, www.torrentz.com, www.torrentreactor.net, www.demonoid.com, www.btjunkie.org, www.btmon.com, www.sumotorrent.com and www.torrentportal.com. Initially, the #2 place to find free movies online was www.thepiratebay.org, but this site has been shut down as of April 2009. One might wonder why these well-known aggregators haven’t all been shut down, but the reality is that it’s easier said than done. There are long trials and waiting periods built into the legal system that buy these sites a lot of time to distribute.

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