Despite its pleas, the movie gets leaked on BitTorrent, the Pirate Bay Goes Simpsons, and yet, despite all it still rakes in big bucks at the box office.It was a big weekend for Hollywood and News Corps Fox Studios in particular which was looking for the "The Simpson's Movie" to rake in big bucks at the box office - which it did. We always hear Hollywood go on and on about how piracy costs the movie industry billions in lost revenue annually and how it costs poor working men and women, overpriced actors and actresses included, lost wages and income but, here we find another example of how the opposite seems to be true. A CAM of the movie appeared on BitTorrent this past Friday afternoon and many were quick to download and watch it, making studio execs at FOX no doubt nervous about ticket sales and opening weekend profits. The Pirate Bay even remade itself into the "Evergreen Bay" in honor of the Simpsons, "Evergreen" referring to their address at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the city of Springfield, and quickly hosted one of the first CAMs of the movie to make its way from theaters and onto BitTorrent.
This was despite the apparent pleas in "The Simpsons Movie" itself in which Bart is reprimanded for downloading "this movie" illegally. In his usual scene of writing on the chalkboard countless times what he has done wrong as punishment, he writes that "I will not illegally download this movie." The subtlety is not lost on viewers I'm sure and was an obvious attempt at getting pirates out from behind their PCs and into the theaters.
Yet, even though "The Simpsons Movie" was leaked and downloaded tens of thousands of times at the very least, Mavens copy alone has averaged about 9,000 leechers on the Pirate Bay, it still raked in big bucks at the box office over the weekend pulling in some $71.9 million in ticket sales. "We are ecstatic," said Chris Aronson, senior vice president for distribution at 20th Century Fox. "It far exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations." So what does this mean about piracy and the incessant fears of Hollywood that P2P will cripple it just as it has the record industry? I think what it proves is the fact that just because somebody downloads a movie illegally doesn't mean that that person would've necessarily otherwise purchased a ticket and seen the movie legally. With the countless number of movies released each week it's truly impossible to see them all, and only those which truly appeal to a person will he then go see at the theater. But, what may be critical for the movie industry is those movies which a person wouldn't see at theaters but, would download and watch from home. This person is the one that will tell family and friends what he though of it and whether or not it's actually worth buying a ticket to see. It used to be that a person couldn't tell if a movie sucked so quickly, and so many were regularly tricked into watching a movie not worth the price of admission and were essentially ripped off by movie studios looking to make a quick buck rather than a decent movie. Now movies like "Wild Hogs" or "The Incredible Hulk" are avoided in a New York Minute thanks to early reviews by people who have already downloaded and watched the movie for themselves. It may be bad for the movie industry but, it's good for consumers who can quickly learn early on whether a movie really is worth his time and hard earned money. It could prove to be good for the movie industry as well because it will force them to finally listen to the audience and make sure that the movies they produce are ones people will actually pay to go see. Lo and behold, "The Simpsons Movie" was truly worth seeing and therefore it was not surprising that the movie did well at the box office. "Doh!"
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Exactly.
/Just sayin'
amen, I mean The Simpsons in theaters "Ay Carumba!"
I totally agree .It's not like we live just to see movies at the theathres . I only have time to go to the theater maybe once a month .
P2P just makes it easier for me to pick a movie , since i can download the movies i can't see in the theater .
People actually praised movies like The Hills have eyes on imdb and Rotten Tomatoes???? On RT it got 50% rating and on imdb a 6.5 out of 10! HAHAHAHAHA i saw that movie 2 times to try and like it, but then i realized that i was watching the biggest load of crap of all time. I give it a 0.0 rating on scenario, acting and effects and a 0.1 rating on everything else. I read the reviews and thought that movie would be a treat to watch, but instead i got rubber masked halloween monsters(I'm scard oooohhhh), and fat idiots screaming in a trailer. But that's my opinion, and i'm not saying that movies like Next are top notch, but it was nice popcorn flick with a bad ending.
So people: Watch the move yourself, and don't base your opinion on other opinions.
???WTF?
You're missing the point, I'm not talking about established critics Im talking about friends and family who download a bootlegged copy and then tell you if it's good or not after watching it.
They are the ones whose opinions will make much more sense then Rotten Tomatoes or Siskel and Ebert will. Right?
It's "Lo and behold." Your blogging license has been revoked.
http://www.zeropaid.com/news/3311/P2P+Helps+CD+Sales
In addition, the University of North Carolina published a report that shows P2P has a neutral or slightly positive effect on legitimate music sales.
http://www.unc.edu/~cigar/papers/FileSharing_March2004.pdf
As you point out, people who download illegally generally wouldn't have gone out and bought the movie or CD, and therefore cannot be blamed for lost sales.
Im very aware of this, thats why if you CONTINUE TO READ ........
"I think what it proves is the fact that just because somebody downloads a movie illegally doesn't mean that that person would've necessarily otherwise purchased a ticket and seen the movie legally."
Thats why I point out that it made a ton of cash - because it was actually a GOOD movie...........which was helped by the fact that people who downloaded it said as much to their friends and family.
Companies just have to realize that when you have something as interesting or compelling as the idea of movies for entertainment, you won't be able to keep it locked up. Folks like something and they want it for themselves, and want to share it because it's so cool, that's the way things work, woof.
Studios can think what they want about copying, but the idea is here to stay. It's not only they who get copied, it's everyone; copying is equal opportunity. Technically it's all files, the same stuff whether it's from Sony or a home video made for Youtube.
Everyone involved in movies must know this, but they probably want to slow it down, so that at least they get enough viewers in theaters, until they can get something else in place, like pay-and-download.
As for the 'Lone behold' thing, I saw that and thought how my spell check does that, many times with names and scene words.
Really? I heard different but, maybe I should give it a chance.
If I like it enough, I will go see the real thing... Not everyone has a home projector entertainment style media room. Well I certainly don't, and either way, nothing beats knowing you're not alone when you hear others reactions to things.
Movies will never die - illegal copies will still be leaked in poor quality, which will continue to either alert the viewer to an atrocious movie, one they would not have seen anyway or one that they will rave about and go and see with their mates.
the movie industry is just peeved at lost revenue from those who at the end of the day felt ripped off by what they were presented with - I know I've seen a few movies where the trailers are all hype and the movie ends up nothing such. In my opinion that itself is theft, of sorts.. Misrepresentation of a movie in order to get people who are misled to pay to view it. Thats pretty shallow I admit, but the paying viewer doesn't have a team or lawyers at hand to break the backs of those who take 1 cent from them, as the industries do.
So to see a pixelated, heads bobbing up and down, babies crying, POS preview, before making a decision, Indeed I think it benefits all who truly enjoy the movie experience.
Viola, the world has it's grease to ease it's turning.