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'Star Trek' Tops One Annual List: Most Pirated

J.J. Abrams feature very popular among those not willing to pay for film

In a year where there were some major standout hits like "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," "Up," "District 9," and the recently released "Avatar," it seems that J.J. Abrams' latest film "Star Trek" is almost getting lost in the shuffle.

But not when it comes to a list Paramount Pictures probably wish the movie was also forgotten for: the most pirated.

A study by the site TorrentFreak said "Star Trek" edged out its Paramount sibling "Revenge of the Fallen" by just 300,000 downloads, earning 10.9 million downloads total. If each download represented a single $9 movie ticket, that means Paramount lost nearly $91 million to piracy from Star Trek alone. Add in "Revenge of the Fallen," and the number is more than $180 million -- a hefty take.

Following the two CGI/action blockbusters were the Guy Ritchie film "RocknRolla" with 9.4 million downloads, "The Hangover" with 9.2 million downloads, "Twilight" with 8.7 million downloads and "District 9" with 8.3 million downloads. Also making the list were "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with 7.2 million downloads and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" with 7.2 million downloads.

The top 10 pirated movies represented 85.8 million downloads, or at $9 a ticket, more than $772.2 million in theft from studios.

"Star Trek" earned $257.7 million in the North American box office, more than $100 million over its budget, creating an obvious profit for Paramount. "Revenge of the Fallen" was no different earning $402.1 million domestically, more than $200 million over its budget, both earning further sequels. But lower profit margins mean potentially tighter budgets for movies like this as studios continue to struggle to find a way to curb piracy.

One of the efforts put in place over recent years is the simultaneous release of films worldwide, rather than a staggered rollout across the globe that would encourage international piracy. Yet, piracy continues to be on the rise, with no end in sight.

Downloading movies through torrent sites where no payment is made to the studios making films is not only theft, but illegal. Airlock Alpha does not knowingly link to sites that promote or help Web surfers pirate material from studios.

Both "Star Trek" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" are now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

About the Author

Michael Hinman is the founder and editor-in-chief for Airlock Alpha and the entire GenreNexus. He owns Nexus Media Group Inc., the parent corporation of the GenreNexus and is a veteran print journalist. He lives in Tampa, Fla.
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