Pros and Cons for Film Piracy

What are the cons (for institutions) and the pros (for the audience) of digital film piracy?

Digital film piracy can cause many problems in today’s market, especially for institutions. One of the main problems that arise from piracy is the loss of money for film producers and distributors. Most films that are made nowadays cost millions of pounds to make and the main reason why these films are produced, except for entertainment purposes, is the make a profit. Avengers (2011) cost $220,000,000 to make and grossed $623,279,547 in America alone. Many films are made nowadays with a similar budget to the Avengers, so if film piracy becomes more popular, these films are likely to made less and less due to the fact that companies cannot afford to keep producing them. Film companies are reliant on people going to watch their films in the cinema and if piracy becomes more and more popular, film institutions, such as Warner Bro’s are not going to make enough money and so the eventual effect is the film industry, as we know it, will no longer exist.

Figures in the first half of 2004 show an increase of 207% in film piracy and this on top of the 405% year-on-year increase from 2002-2003, highlight how popular piracy is becoming and that it is a real threat to film institutions in today’s modern market. Many companies, such as Industry Trust for IP Awareness LTD, have formed campaigns for millions of dollars, that constantly send out messages against piracy, highlighting how big institutions are taking the problem of piracy, extremely seriously.

Despite, the overwhelming fact that film piracy is a bad thing, there are still many pros for the audiences of these movies. The main pro for the audience, when watching a pirated copy of a movie is the fact that you are not paying. Although that may be a huge problem for institutions, it is a big bonus for the people watching the movie. Many people will jump at the chance to watch a film that is recently out for no money as it means they can watch it in the comfort of their own home. It is clear that most people love to go to the cinema occasionally but many cannot afford to go every month at eight pounds a head and so making piracy a popular option.

In today’s booming technological world, it is quite easy to find a perfectly good copy of a movie that is or has been recently out and so causing huge problems for industries but pleasing many audience members. Piracy is certainly a dangerous business to get involved in as shown by the, “growing involvement of human trafficking gangs in DVD piracy”, but it is clear to say that the pros out way the cons in these circumstances as there certainly is a rise in film piracy in today’s modern market.