The most pirated film of 2012 was…wait, what? That one? Really?
By Pankaj Ladhar of Manos • Alwine P.L.
In our last post, we told Miami readers which TV shows people were illegally downloading. The list probably was not too surprising. After all, most of us have heard of “Game of Thrones” and “Dexter,” the two shows that topped the most-pirated list.
But when we look at movies, the results are a little more surprising.
Yes, mega-blockbusters like “The Avengers,” “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” and “The Dark Knight Rises” made website TorrentFreak’s most-pirated list, but the movie that came in at No.1 was one you probably have never heard of: “Project X.”
“Project X” was a low-budget comedy about three high school friends who throw a party that spins out of control. It was illegally downloaded 8.72 million times.
One theory for the film’s popularity is that it was based on a real-life news story out of Australia, so many Australian film fans downloaded it because it wasn’t playing in Australia yet.
Another theory is that it appeals to younger viewers, who are more likely to pirate material, whereas the other films on the list were aimed at older viewers, who are perfectly comfortable buying a movie ticket.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, “‘Project X’ Most Pirated Film of 2012,” Philiana Ng, Dec. 28, 2012