illegal downloading explodes thanks to streaming releases
Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, The Suicide Squad, these films released in the summer of 2021 all share one thing in common. Indeed, their respective studios, in this case Disney and Warner Bros, have decided to play the card of simultaneous release in theaters and on their streaming platforms. What makes pirates happy.
With the exception of France (due to the media chronology), most of the big American blockbusters of the summer like Black Widow, The Suicide Squad or even Jungle Cruise have all experienced simultaneous release in cinemas and on streaming platforms. In this period of global health crisis, major studios like Disney or Warner Bros. prefer to have it both ways, by offering their feature film on as many media as possible.
Only and it was to be suspected, these releases on streaming platforms like Disney + or HBO Max are pirate happiness. And the despair of the operators of cinemas who observe with dismay a record drop in attendance for all these blockbusters. Big American machines which should usually fill the rooms in this summer period. For example, Black Widow saw its footfall drop 68% in just its second week of operation.
Piracy explodes like streaming releases
Why do spectators abandon dark rooms? The answer could not be simpler. What is the point of paying for a seat over 10 € whenyou can find these movies on any illegal download site ? As explained by our colleagues from the Wall Street Journal, several groups of pirates have found a way to bypass the protection of streaming platforms like Disney + or HBO Max.
They thus manage to download the feature films in question in HD, Full HD and in 4K and then stream them over the web, via torrents, direct download, or FTP. The operating mode is also particularly well established now, with scripts that automate the process of downloading and uploading files from streaming platforms.
Faced with the discontent of directors, producers, actors and actresses like Scarlett Johansson, and theater operators, American studios have understood that they will not be able to proceed in this manner indefinitely. Disney, for example, announced that it would first offer a film in theaters, before stream it on Disney + 45 days later. This will be the case with Shang-Shi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. As for Warner Bros., the next films coming in 2021 will be offered exclusively in theaters, and their arrival on HBO Max will not be until 2022. Hopefully these few measures put an end to the explosion of piracy.
Source: Wall Street Journal
