Is Piracy killing the film industry?

[kissfan85]

Avatar I think is a horrible movie that doesn't deserve the acclaim it has.
I think it's a horrible movie, so horrible I wouldn't even want to watch a free copy...

I'd watch a downloaded movie if maybe I can't make it to the movies?
I don't drive yet and the theater isn't walking distance, I may not make every movie but I buy it when it comes out...

 

[Razor]

I fail to see how. Have you ever seen a bootlegged movie? It's a shitty rip of some guy's camcorder that he snuck into the movie. In between people moving in front of him, he hiding the camera at various points to avoid the usher catching him, and him veering away to check out the chick giving her boyfriend a handy (guess which one I made up), I'd rather pay the 7 bucks to go to theaters.

The only real argument I see here is the DVD sales. But really? DVD sales? After you make your profit back ten times from the money you squeeze from the movie theaters (with money movie companies demanding 70% of all profits from the first week of screening, which goes down 10% after each subsequent week of play), you want to complain about a few million you might lose from a few extra thousand DVDs not selling? Really?

I can tell you the release pattern of the DVD for the new Avatar movie.

1) Initial release. Basic cardboard cover, fancy Avatar face on the lower half.
2) Special release, same day as Number One. Plastic tin, some kind of cheap plastic that they can loosely attach to the film. Marked up 50% over Number One.

3) Two months later, Director's Cut.
4) A month after that, Special Director's Cut with extra special deleted scenes.
5) A few months after that, special Christmas release with extra special footage of Avatar II, the latest CGI *********ion from Cameron.

Then when Avatar II comes out they will release another 5 versions of Avatar II, then another 5 versions of bundle deals with Avatar II and Avatar I.

When they are making veritable hundreds of millions off of those releases upon releases, they're really complaining about illegal downloads?

Please MPAA, you sound like Metallica. Suck it up. You're not going to go out of business because of a few shitty bootlegs.

 

[mister_b1LL]

But the fact is you still watched it, If you weren't desperate to actually see that movie (more than likely because your a fan of the whole bond genre of films) you wouldn't have paid to see it.

Imagine if it was a film you where unsure of and after watching a pirate copy ruined the whole experience for you, than it would have lost at least the price of the ticket that you where gonna pay to see it.

Well, actually I'm a pretty good man at either watching the movie again in theaters or buying the DVD after I see a pirated copy of a movie that I liked.
Usually those movies that I watch where the pirated copy ruined the whole experience ruined it for me are movies that I am unsure of anyway. I like to think of watching pirated movies as the trial run before I decide to watch it on the big screen and pay money for it. I'm very passionate about watching movies and I will always pay good money to see a movie if it's worth it.

And I actually am a major fan of the James Bond franchise. I watched Quantum in the theater and bought the DVD as soon as it came out. I just heard reviews that said that Quantum was not as good as Royale and that's why I chose to check the pirated copy first.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I don't think that piracy has been hurting the film industry all that much, if any at all really. People do still love to go to the movies, it's expensive as all hell anymore but they still love to go. It gets them out of the house and, for some people, there's not really much of anything to do for entertainment in their area except go to the movies. My little community is one of those and the multiplex is always pretty much packed during the weekends.

If anything is hurting the film industry overall, I'd have to say that it's just the quality of most of the films being put out rather than piracy. Toy Story 3 has taken in almost $400 million in the states alone this summer, Iron Man II has taken in more than $300 million and the third Twilight flick is hovering around $300 mil. Whether you might personally be a fan of these franchises or not, they're examples of anticipated movies that a lot of people want to see.

I think that one of the major problems is that the film industry just has unrealistic expectations. As a whole, the studio executives and all that want to see each year be more successful than the year before it and it's just not going to happen. A lot of them believe that just by spending $200 million dollars for a movie that features mostly special effects, lots of explosions and action rather than an actual story and interesting characters that people will flock to it and that's just not how it is. Well, that's not how it is in a lot of cases. Avatar made close to $2 billion worldwide and cost about $200 million to make. That's a huge profit margin and I don't see how piracy had much, if, any effect on those numbers. But, even if piracy did have some sort of impact overall, who in their right mind couldn't be thrilled with a movie that made that much money?

 

[kissfan85]

There's a lot of good quality pirated stuff.
You have to know where to find them.
There's a lot that are copied from someone having an early release copy like at a theater.
The good stuff your not gonna get cheap, you get what you pay for.

You can't just click on anything on line and expect it to be good...you have to search and search and do your homework.

Now with 3d coming out and everything....I think it's gonna set it back some...unfortunately cause personally I don't see the big deal about pirating....

I'm not against it and I go out and I spend more then enough money on the real thing so why should I be considered a bad guy at all?

 

[barclayteo]

man i dont see piracy killing the movie industry i mean it hurts it a little but there will always be a ton and ton of people who will much rather watch movies in theaters. it kills the music industry but not the movie industry

 

[.]

I've never understood why people download or buy pirate movies. Usually they were recorded in the cinema and have suckish quality. I get why people download music as maybe they cannot find the album they are looking for or maybe just want one song. I understand why people may want to download games as maybe the games they are looking for are either no longer produced or are on an outdated system.

I've never understood the download of movies. It wouldn't cost much to go to a movie theater and watch the movie in comparison to buying the copy from a stranger or even the time on the internet spent looking for the movie or the download time it could take. I don't believe downloading is killing the industry as like Hammer said Toy Story 3 has taken in more than 400 million and the third Twilight movie(Sadly) has taken more than 600 million. If these movies are long awaited and have a major following even before they are expected(The Expendables producer is contemplating a sequel due to the demand the first one got even before it was released.) and will often gross alot.

What i think is killing the movie industry is the constant need for sequels and remakes. I've hated that whenever a film does well in the box office then a sequel is planned. This is most apparent in the horror genre of movies. In the past recognisable horror movies like Hellraiser, Friday The 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and the Leprechaun have all had so many fucking sequels their legacy has been destroyed and some have even been remade. The worst movie for having remakes and spin-offs is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film is based on true events which is now totally unbelievable due to all the prequels and sequels put in there. The movie series today with sequel after sequel is the Saw series. At first the movie was great with it's unforseen plot twist but now every single movie is the same thing: torture with a twist.

So in short no, Piracy is not killing the film Industry, Sequels and remakes are.

 

[Sting's Bat]

The industry is to blame somewhat because they were slow to get with the times. Its alot like when the whole napster thing was going on rather than get with the times the record industry tried to stop a dam that already broke. If they had developed things like I-tunes sooner it might have made less of a impact. Same goes for the movie industry they are only changing the way they are doing business because the world is forcing them to.

As far as piracy goes there will always be people that opt to get it free and will never pay for it, but there are those people that if the content is good enough some people might be compelled to buy it to support more of the same.

As far as quality of product goes the remake/rehash crap has to stop, as well as the 3-D bs they try to grab extra money from. Case and point the "new" Pirahana 3-D movie coming out is a rip off of a cheesy horror flick from the late 80s - early 90s. Crap like that doesn't compel me to go out to a theater and waste money, but at the same time i dont care enough or have enough time to dl the crap either.

Oh that ad is ******ed physically stealing things and digitally stealing them is a way different experience that can't be contrasted. They were running that ad in theaters here in the US too it has had little effect I gather. Oh one more thing that ad used to be about bootlegging but they recycled and updated it for dling movies another lazy hollywood remake lol.

 

[kissfan85]

The industry is to blame somewhat because they were slow to get with the times. Its alot like when the whole napster thing was going on rather than get with the times the record industry tried to stop a dam that already broke. If they had developed things like I-tunes sooner it might have made less of a impact. Same goes for the movie industry they are only changing the way they are doing business because the world is forcing them to.

As far as piracy goes there will always be people that opt to get it free and will never pay for it, but there are those people that if the content is good enough some people might be compelled to buy it to support more of the same.

As far as quality of product goes the remake/rehash crap has to stop, as well as the 3-D bs they try to grab extra money from. Case and point the "new" Pirahana 3-D movie coming out is a rip off of a cheesy horror flick from the late 80s - early 90s. Crap like that doesn't compel me to go out to a theater and waste money, but at the same time i dont care enough or have enough time to dl the crap either.

Oh that ad is ******ed physically stealing things and digitally stealing them is a way different experience that can't be contrasted. They were running that ad in theaters here in the US too it has had little effect I gather. Oh one more thing that ad used to be about bootlegging but they recycled and updated it for dling movies another lazy hollywood remake lol.

The adds being as bad as they are just make me want to go out and buy a bootleg cause I'm pissed that they would try and prove a point with such a useless commercial.

and 3 D is just an excuse to re release every movie that has ever been made that's already been made from the transition to Blu ray.......


A lot of the movies got re released to theaters after going digital....
and most dvd's got put back into reproduction when blu ray came out...
and now all those movies are going to get re did over again some for a third and fourth time just cause of all this 3 D crap.....
It never ends, so people have the nerve to think the industry took a hit?
Yeah right...We the people who are stupid enough to support them yr after yr and give up our hard earned money are the ones taking a hit

I'm sorry putting movies like Ben Hur on blu rey? are you serious, movies that are older then dirt there putting on blu rey...they just do it cause they know we are stupid enough to buy this crap

 

[enterkey]

Perhaps a better question could be is Netflix destroying the film industry, it has already put Hollywood Video out of business and Blockbuster could be next on the chopping block as it has been closing stores and losing money left and right. This company has taken a great deal out of the movie rental revenue down and with the instant streaming and unlimited movies sent to your house for a low cost, my brother only pays $8 a month. The streaming and unlimited movies lowers the need for people to buy their own movies to add them to their collections and take up space when they can just mail them back or close their internet browser with Netflix instead. Personally I believe that I will always buy DVD's as opposed to Netflix because I prefer to have a hard copy with me at any times to watch and my own library of movies to look through.

 

[kissfan85]

it's the combination of Red Box and Netflix that's just killing everything out...
I wont go to red box, it's a rip off....

I got overcharged once and once is all I need to not ever ever go back to a red box.
There not on top with new releases, they never get them when they advertise they will
I'd rather walk into a blockbuster and hand pick from the hundreds of movies they have then go to a red box,
and as for netflix, I tried it for a couple months but I still ended up going to a video store cause I wanted a movie in my hand at that moment

 

[WRESTLING_GENIUS]

I believe if they allow you to do it, and its at home its all right, thats like saying ,making a Mcdonalds Cheesburger at home, and you use the same bread, the same meat, and the same cheese,etc.., and McDonalds prosecutes you for mocking there burger and eat it everyday for free(on this case LimeWire,Morpheus,Bearshare,), although you had to go to the store and by the material( on this case Blank DVD's,Computer or laptop,internet etc...)....

 

[Hazardous]

I believe if they allow you to do it, and its at home its all right, thats like saying ,making a Mcdonalds Cheesburger at home, and you use the same bread, the same meat, and the same cheese,etc.., and McDonalds prosecutes you for mocking there burger and eat it everyday for free(on this case LimeWire,Morpheus,Bearshare,), although you had to go to the store and by the material( on this case Blank DVD's,Computer or laptop,internet etc...)....

care to explain that a little? it was confusing. Downloading so'Theyngs/movies on Limewire is illegal (well, in the US, but not here..yet) who are "they" and what are they "allowing" you to do?

 

[kissfan85]

I would never Sell anything downloaded and distribute it.
I just don't see the big deal in watching a movie your really not sure about at home for free.
If you like it your gonna buy it anyways.

paranormal activity I almost saw it in the theater. I would have been so upset if I spent 11.00 to see such a horrible rip off, scam of a movie I think I would have went to the management just to voice how angry I was that they would show something that is just that bad at not even a discounted rate....that thing is not a 'movie' by any stretch of the imagination

 

[excel_excel]

I don't really think its hurting the movie industry. I don't think piracy is helping anything, but in terms of movies, they are still incredibly popular (just look at Toy Story 3's performance) and the amount of people pirating movies is offset by the sheer millions of people that go to cinemas to see them. I think its a much larger issue in gaming and the music industries. Just my take on it.

That said there are a few select movies over the years that I think piracy has hurt such as Watchmen.

 

[Sora/roxas]

Honestly its not that big of a deal. Its not hurting anyone when you pirate a movie or music. The only thing it does is it stop the people from making money and by making it ilegal it gives the cops something to do instead of catching sex offenders and murderers. And maybe if there movies werent so goddamn expensive people wouldnt feel the need to pirate the movies. And funny story about netflix, my friend just gets movies from netflixs, copies them, and sends them back the same day.

 

[gers09]

it is hurting it but part the blame is on the industry with bad movies and also on cinemas too with there high prices for tickets and popcorn etc

 

[kissfan85]

I don't really think its hurting the movie industry. I don't think piracy is helping anything, but in terms of movies, they are still incredibly popular (just look at Toy Story 3's performance) and the amount of people pirating movies is offset by the sheer millions of people that go to cinemas to see them. I think its a much larger issue in gaming and the music industries. Just my take on it.

That said there are a few select movies over the years that I think piracy has hurt such as Watchmen.

I'm glad i didn't see that at a theater...
and I most definitely wouldn't have bought it. We had to fast forward through almost twenty min of sex scenes...
Are they going for and R rated porno or what?
I know it's in the comic but.....you can show a sex scene with out showing the full blown out nudity that comes with it

They are cracking down TOO HARD on Pirating and copy righting and whatnot....

freaking projectplaylist.com I logged on once and because of 'copy right infringements' over half my songs just on one play list were gone...

and these are OLD as dirt songs that no one is making money off of anymore and a lot of the artist's were even dead....now that's being a little greedy...just wanna listen to some tunes at my pc.

Do you honestly think the Mama's and the papa's are going to care if I listen to there stuff lol......Michelle Phillips is the only one alive

Or is Frankie Smith really making money off of 'Double Dutch Bus' ???? seriously come on now...I'm probably the only person listening to the damn song cut me some slack

 

[KKarvox]

I'd say it hurts the consumer more, like shoplifting. People think of it as victimless, because they are ripping off rich movie companies, but the companies recoup loses through the increase of prices, i'd assume at least. similar to how stores will recoup loses on shoplifted items by increasing prices all around.

I assume that piracy causes movie theatres to up the prices on tickets, food etc., movie distributes to increase the price of DVDs and things of that sort.

On the issue of bad movies, perhaps that is a similar effect, with movie companies pumping out much more, and by effect much less quality, movies each year in a hit or miss mind set, throw it at the wall and see what sticks.

 

[kissfan85]

I'd say it hurts the consumer more, like shoplifting. People think of it as victimless, because they are ripping off rich movie companies, but the companies recoup loses through the increase of prices, i'd assume at least. similar to how stores will recoup loses on shoplifted items by increasing prices all around.

I assume that piracy causes movie theatres to up the prices on tickets, food etc., movie distributes to increase the price of DVDs and things of that sort.

On the issue of bad movies, perhaps that is a similar effect, with movie companies pumping out much more, and by effect much less quality, movies each year in a hit or miss mind set, throw it at the wall and see what sticks.

Please, the movie theaters upped there prices years and years before piracy existed...

A dollar increase a yr nowadays for the movies is no more then the ten cent increase every year the movie theaters did fifty years ago...
They up the prices every year, because they can. They can have ten dollar pretzels and people WILL pay ten dollars if they want that pretzel.
People complain about eleven dollar tickets....as there pulling out forty four dollars to pay for them and three friends.
The movie prices have always gone up and always will go up.
My parents weren't even thought of yet...and movie theaters were upping there prices to make more money cause they can

 

[P.K]

I don't think it can kill the industry , but to some degree , it hurts it a lot.

Piracy usually has its most impact on low budget movies which don't have stars in its cast.Because when you can watch a movie without spending too much money and you don't care about movie that much , you probably won't pay for it.It's a sham people think like that , but it's an ugly truth.

This means it will be more difficult to make and build new stars , people get less chance to be known widely but it has one more impact:

Everyone looks to make hi-tech movies like Avatar so people have to attend theaters or buy original DVDs to fell the real joy.I don't say it's bad to have such movies produced more than often , but I think they can easily run out of ideas and produce low quailty movies which is a waste of absolutely everything.

 

[Smooth Sexual Chocolate]

Lulz, I'm with the guy who says porn downloads are killing the movie industry. /sarcasm

The only acceptable answer here is no. I give a solid chuckle every time I see those stupid adds, honestly it's just the film industry jumping on the bandwagon trying to see if they can squeeze a few extra bucks out of the general public.

Movies always make money, good movies make money, shitty movies make money, indie films make money, even fucking youtube movies make money. We practically have all the technology available for everyone to be able to have theater quality in the homes, and people still go out to the theaters.

I don't see anything taking down the movie industry, especially not illegal downloads of all things.

 

[sTyLnK]

Honestly I think it's starting to balance out now.Mainly because movie ticket prices have increased especially with more movies going 3D. 3D ticket prices are much more expensive.

 

[Xemmy]

Piracy is a problem for the success of smaller movies. There is no doubt about that. If a movie didn't do well in theaters, there would still be enough people to buy the DVD.

People still watch in theaters. Piracy, in no way, stops people from going to see the next big thing on friday night. Ya got to take your date somewhere right? So piracy hasn't hurt any of the big movies. The Dark Knight and Avatar won't complain.
It's the lesser success stories that aren't doing good. Movies that didn't make number 1. If people didn't pay to watch it in the theater, why would I pay to watch it at home?

But all in all Piracy isn't much of a threat to that industry. Money is still being made. Point black. Piracy is just a minor annoyance for them.

 

[WweBreezybre]

Hmmmm interesting post I dnt think it is that damaging. I mean ppl by music even though you can get it free off the Internet and ppl buy Movies even though you can get it free off the internet.I may even go as far to say as I am guilty of downloading..........things off the internet. Who am I hurting a million dollar industry?