With developments in technology and the power of the Internet, film piracy is at an all time high. With the added incentive of rising cinema ticket prices, more and more film fans are taking to the web for their cinematic fix. Even though the quality is poor, the atmosphere is lacking and is ridding the film industry of millions of pounds, 2010 saw a huge leap in illegal film downloads.
With that in mind, we take a look at the most pirated films the world has ever seen (for free).
10. Twilight - 8.72 million downloads
Having paid to read all the books and all the merchandise, Twi-hards were probably a bit strapped for cash by the time the movie came out. Downloading it for free was the only option for angsty teenage vampire addicts in order to get their teeth into the feature film. Either that or the fans just couldn’t wait for the DVD and were determined to freeze frame R Pattz’s scenes and swoon ASAP.
9. Iron Man 2 - 8.8 million downloads
Robert Downey Jr’s remarkably acute portrayal of Tony Stark was very well received by lovers of the original comic book and general film fans alike, therefore it’s little surprise that the second instalment has become one of the most pirated film of all time.
8. The Hangover - 9.18 million downloads
The surprise hit comedy went down pretty well with just about anyone under the age of 35. Anyone who saw it couldn’t wait for it to come out on DVD, therefore the fans took to the web to grab themselves a copy and share it with their friends. Then go out on a night of epic partying that resulted in one of them going missing. At least they knew what to do now.
7. Rock ‘n’ Rolla - 9.43 million downloads
We were surprised as you are when we found that ‘Rock ’n’ Rolla’ made the list. The only thing we can think of is that after getting a grilling by movie buffs, those tempted to catch Guy Richie’s latest flick didn’t really want to waste the cash. It probably had the most aborted downloads of all time, but we will save that for another time.
6. Shutter Island - 9.5 million downloads
U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding nearby. The sequel is set to investigate the disappearance of their DVD sales. Here’s a clue: Look online.
5. Inception - 9.7 million downloads
It seems that Leonardo DiCaprio is pretty popular in the black market. With his second film on the list getting downloaded just shy of 10 million times he is one of the most illegally downloaded stars ever. Hackers used an intricate dream within a dream system to get into the cinema and record the film while the security guards were asleep (that might not be strictly true).
4. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - 10.6 million downloads
Michael Bay’s cinematic version of the popular kids toy was full of mind bending special effects that happened too quickly. Audiences needed a proper look at all the twisting metal and cut-happy fight scenes to really understand what was going on. But they’re not going to pay for it!
3. Star Trek - 10.96 million downloads
The most downloaded film in 2009 has slipped back a few places after the 2010 results were published, but still commands a large chunk of the pirated film statistics. It was pretty popular amongst the geeks, so perhaps it’s not really a surprise that they were able to get round the DVD security systems.
2. Kick-Ass - 11.4 million downloads
A fairly surprising second place goes to the cult superhero flick, ‘Kick Ass’. It was downloaded a whopping 11.4 million times and may go some way to explain why it performed relatively modestly at the box office, with £56 million in worldwide ticket sales.
1. Avatar - 16.58 million downloads
One of the biggest films to grace the silver screen, ‘Avatar’ tops the counterfeit chart with an astonishing 16.58 million illegal downloads. We can’t help but sympathise with director James Cameron on this one. All that time spent making a visually epic 3D flick that will go down in history as one of the best CGI flicks of all time is all null and void when most of the people to see it will have watched in on their tiny computer screen with a blurry picture. Then again it did take over £1.2 billion at the box office. So we reckon he did OK out of it.
Notable absentees
The Dark Knight: (7.03 million), Harry Potter (7.93 million), Transformers (569,259), Pirates Of The.Caribbean: At World’s End (379,749), Knocked Up (509.314).
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