Avatar Breaks Blu-ray Piracy Records

News
By Jane McEntegart
published

Avatar has broken Blu-ray sales records and it looks like it may have broken the record for illegal downloading too.

Over the last few days, people have been talking about the DVD and Blu-ray release of James Cameron's Avatar. Having sold 6.7 million copies in the four days following its DVD release, the movie sold 2.7 million Blu-rays and overtook the Dark Knight's Blu-ray sales on the first day.

Today TorrentFreak reports that the Blu-ray version of Avatar is well on its way to becoming the most pirated Blu-ray title.

"With more than 200,000 downloads in the first four days, Avatar has squashed all competition," TorrentFreak's Ernesto writes. "The download figures are still quite low compared to those of 'regular' pirated DVDs – this could be in part due to the larger file size (~10GB) and the fact that Blu-ray market penetration is nowhere near DVD levels yet."

Ernesto goes on to say that in the first few days, a high percentage of the downloads were coming from the UK and Australia, something that can probably be attributed to the fact that the DVD did not go on sale in those countries until after the torrent was made available on line.

The fact that Avatar is smashing Blu-ray records left and right should come as no surprise. However, more and more people are starting to believe this has less to do with how "revolutionary" the hugely popular movie is and more to do with the fact that Blu-ray is getting increasingly popular as time goes by. When the Dark Knight hit Blu-ray in 2008, adoption of the format was not what it is today.

Jane McEntegart
47 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Userremoved
    HAHAHAHAHAHA! I guess it broke a little too many records!
    Reply
  • bison88
    Pretty impressive, but to be fair The Dark Knight came out on Blu-ray when it was still extremely high priced to even own a player. I paid $29.99 for Blu-ray releases at the time too, now you can get the same new releases for $10 cheaper and players have dropped about a hundred or more and it was two years ago. Just saying, they broke many records but the comparison for a new format is kind of just a slick way to boost their ego given the other variables that exist.
    Reply
  • eternalkp
    i fell asleep in the movie theater
    what's the carry on about this movie?
    Reply
  • fatkid35
    nugget your right about the plot but man it was awesome in theaters to watch. the images were amazing. the blueray looks bitchin on my lcd at home as well.
    Reply
  • Userremoved
    mcnuggetofdeathWhy would someone spend time downloading a poorly written rehash of Pocahontas? If you want pretty explosions and colors go buy yourself some LSD and fireworks. You'll have more fun. I promise.It was like wow and then I was like boom!
    Reply
  • p05esto
    I bought this Blu-Ray instead of pirating like normal because I believe in buying movies I personally like and will watch more than once. For a so-so movie I only will watch once there's no way I'll pay $25.

    We need full digital downloads of movies for say $3 for standard def and maybe $5 for HD. That may sound low but at those prices they will more than make up for the lower cost in quantity....and digital downloads costs nothing for the seller, no packaging, no shipping and handling. Sell cheap, but you'll sell so many more copies. The studios and game companies just don't get this FACT. If video games we're $10 to download new releases no one would really pirate, it just wouldn't be worth it to save $10.
    Reply
  • liquidsnake718
    I actually enjoyed the movie more in my house than I did in the theatre. I bought the regular dvd and upscaled it on my ps3, and even that looked incredible. The movie itself wasnt that great but i bought it for the effects, personally hurt locker and shuitter island are better movies in terms of story in my opinion. THe sci fi thing isnt really new considering it reminded me of aliens, starcraft,final fantasy, and ferngully combined.

    Reply
  • zoemayne
    How can we compare it to dark nights sales. werent blu ray discs double the price and blu ray players were more expensive?....
    Reply
  • "This is a must for Blu-Ray. Buying this on DVD doesnt make sense. This movie is about the visual effects not the story. "

    And you lose most of the effect by buying it on blueray. It was ment to be viewed in 3d.
    Reply
  • Regulas
    mcnuggetofdeathWhy would someone spend time downloading a poorly written rehash of Pocahontas? If you want pretty explosions and colors go buy yourself some LSD and fireworks. You'll have more fun. I promise.Sad dude, it was a good movie.
    Reply