Despite availability of pirated versions online, “The Avengers” had a record-breaking opening weekend at the U.S. box office.
About a week before the premiere, a camcorder version of the film appeared online. According to TorrentFreak, the pirated version was downloaded half a million times, and while that may be a high number for a “cam” movie, “it failed to exceed the download numbers of several other movies that were available in higher quality.”
The film, produced by Marvel and distributed by Disney, earned $200 million its opening weekend. With 20 percent of illegal downloads occurring in the U.S., TorrentFreak argues that if those same 100,000 Americans opted for a theater experience, the resulting box office revenue would only have been 0.5 percent higher (and there’s no way to determine whether or not the pirated version kept any of those viewers out of theaters).
“We don’t think that there are many movie fans who see a low quality camcorded version of a movie as a true alternative to watching a film in a movie theater,” comments TorrentFreak. “The two are totally different experiences, and not direct competition at all.”
“If anything, downloading a camcorded movie could be compared to downloading a low quality bootleg of a concert. People who download these are collectors, passionate fans, or just curious. But in no way do these bootlegs seriously hurt concert attendances,” adds the article.
TorrentFreak agrees that higher quality pirated copies may directly compete with international theatrical releases, DVD-aftermarket and VOD sales, but suggests that “in no way are camcorded copies killing the U.S. movie industry.”
Despite availability of pirated versions online, “The Avengers” had a record-breaking opening weekend at the U.S. box office.
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