The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record • Hacker News Board

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#31

Post by nekojima » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:42 PM UTC

tseabrooks wrote: post #4

Torrentfreak's articles seem to get better and better. They note the ways in which piracy is hurting films (foreign sales) and show some numbers indicating that in the US it doesn't appear to be hurting sales much at all. While obviously torrentfreak can't ever be considered objective in regards to piracy, they seem to be getting closer each time. Back on topic then, Does anyone have the background necessary to know…

The change will come through digital distribution of the movies to cinemas, instead of the physical reel method that has been used since movies were first shown in cinemas.

The main reasons these movies take so long to distribute outside of North America has been because of local content & distribution rules for movies, risk assessment for success from distributors and, importantly, studios not wanting to spend extra money on new or extra reels when they can just use those from North America after a few months in overseas markets.

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#32

Post by frooxie » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:46 PM UTC

iamben wrote: post #17

For me it usually comes down to the 'is it worth it?' Avengers was worth it - you knew it was going to be great in 3D, explosions, cinema sound, Iron Man, etc. Whilst I begrudged paying £16 (~$26 US) for me and the girlfriend (before even thinking about drinks / popcorn) we were always going to see it in the cinema. Compare that to a film that doesn't excite me (or most of the general population), and all of a sudden…

> Whilst I begrudged paying £16 (~$26 US) for me and the girlfriend

Does this mean that you only had to pay $13 per person? In Sweden, a single ticket sells for $20.

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#33

Post by slavak » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:46 PM UTC

ljf wrote: post #26

rmc wrote: post #21

that there is a detrimental effect on international box office figures. The researchers attribute this impact to the wide release gaps Damn right. It makes sense that if you release a film in Europe 6 months after the USA that there will be more piracy in Europe. Why should we have to wait? There is a simple solution: Release films at the same time/day. This is an example of piracy making things better for the consum…

It's a hangover from the 'old days' where those lower down the release date list got 'hand me down' film reels. Reels are one of the last major costs for film distributors, and even in the face of piracy they would rather cut costs there, than put there risk onto their own shoulders and produce more reels. They are scared of being stuck with a flop movie, and many theatres in the UK and elsewhere outside of the USofA…

What year is this? I was sure the world had long since moved on to entirely digital projection. I for one can't remember the last time I saw the "end-of-reel" spots on a movie in the cinema.

Are reel projectors actually widely used still?

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#34

Post by excuse-me » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:48 PM UTC

bobsy wrote: post #19

A thing to note is that it was a CAM recording of the film that was leaked. I have only ever watched one cam recording of a movie before. I think it was 'The Illusionist.' I was at a friends house, he slapped it on. The color saturation was wrong, the sound was like mono and the camera appeared slightly off so the very top or bottom of the screen was cut off. It wasn't completely unwatchable but it spoiled the movie.…

"If you enjoy the cinema you are going to watch a film like this at the cinema"

If you enjoy 'cinema' you would probably rather pluck your eyes out than watch a film like this anywhere in anyway

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#35

Post by excuse-me » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:50 PM UTC

slavak wrote: post #33

ljf wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a hangover from the 'old days' where those lower down the release date list got 'hand me down' film reels. Reels are one of the last major costs for film distributors, and even in the face of piracy they would rather cut costs there, than put there risk onto their own shoulders and produce more reels. They are scared of being stuck with a flop movie, and many theatres in the UK and elsewhere outside of the USofA…

What year is this? I was sure the world had long since moved on to entirely digital projection. I for one can't remember the last time I saw the "end-of-reel" spots on a movie in the cinema. Are reel projectors actually widely used still?

Yes reel projectors are still used - even at some multiplexes. The reason there are no end of reel dots is that the changeover is now electronic and is coded into the sound track but most places now have full film reels and single projectors anyway to reduce the staffing requirements so there is no changeover.

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#36

Post by cdr » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:54 PM UTC

jcr wrote: post #29

tseabrooks wrote: post #4

Torrentfreak's articles seem to get better and better. They note the ways in which piracy is hurting films (foreign sales) and show some numbers indicating that in the US it doesn't appear to be hurting sales much at all. While obviously torrentfreak can't ever be considered objective in regards to piracy, they seem to be getting closer each time. Back on topic then, Does anyone have the background necessary to know…

I certainly do not qualify for "have the background" but I do have some information. One part is cost of reproduction; it's rumored to cost $1,500 for each reproduced film reel set. The current work (that I know about) is the move towards digital distribution. http://singularityhub.com/2012/04/27/movie-theaters-ramp-up-... Another part is translation. Though language barriers have been decreasing during the last two…

My local indie theater recently ran a substantial (for them) fundraising campaign to upgrade to digital. They claimed that within a year or two, the major studios were going digital only and any theater without digital would be completely shut out. I didn't verify this, but I have no reason to doubt them.

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#37

Post by excuse-me » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:55 PM UTC

brackin wrote: post #9

The people that should be scared by piracy are those that aren't making really high quality, possible cult films. If you're making the next Jennifer Aniston movie, which replicates tens of others then people won't be motivated to go to the cinema, some may pirate it and others may buy it on DVD just for something to watch but you can't dedicate a huge following to go watch it in the cinema. The Avengers got people to…

That's the industry's real concern - that the majority of nice people will pirate movies.

As long as it's a few kids downloading copies of the latest blockbuster they aren't too worried - these people are guaranteed to go to see every blockbuster anyway - and will go with large numbers of their friends - and go multiple times. That's why the piracy of this kind of movie doesn't hurt US ticket sales.

But when nice respectable couples decide to download the movie rather than making the trip out, paying babysitters, etc then the industry has to worry. All it's nice middle of the road mid budget movies that it can't pay for with fast food tie-ins or theme park rides and had to rely on DVD sales for.

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#38

Post by andrewljohnson » Tue, May 08, 2012, 3:57 PM UTC

nextparadigms wrote: post #23

bobsy wrote: post #19

A thing to note is that it was a CAM recording of the film that was leaked. I have only ever watched one cam recording of a movie before. I think it was 'The Illusionist.' I was at a friends house, he slapped it on. The color saturation was wrong, the sound was like mono and the camera appeared slightly off so the very top or bottom of the screen was cut off. It wasn't completely unwatchable but it spoiled the movie.…

Imagine how much money they could make if they released a 1080p HD version online, globally, 4 weeks at most after the launch in cinemas, and for a price of $5. That may or may not kill the cinemas in the long term, depending on how hard they fight to become more competitive and unique compared to watching the movie at home, but it would definitely not hurt the studios and movie makers. If anything, they stand to mak…

When I imagine that much money, I imagine it is much less than what they make now. That's the nature of a disrupted industry.

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#39

Post by daimyoyo » Tue, May 08, 2012, 4:08 PM UTC

I watched the CAM recording over the weekend(before this I had no desire at all to see the Avengers) and decided it was worth actually seeing in a theater. I think that's what a lot of people use CAM recordings for. To sample a movie before spending the money to see it in theaters.

Re: The Avengers: Why Pirates Failed To Prevent A Box Office Record

#40

Post by shawnc » Tue, May 08, 2012, 4:11 PM UTC

excuse-me wrote: post #34

bobsy wrote: post #19

A thing to note is that it was a CAM recording of the film that was leaked. I have only ever watched one cam recording of a movie before. I think it was 'The Illusionist.' I was at a friends house, he slapped it on. The color saturation was wrong, the sound was like mono and the camera appeared slightly off so the very top or bottom of the screen was cut off. It wasn't completely unwatchable but it spoiled the movie.…

"If you enjoy the cinema you are going to watch a film like this at the cinema" If you enjoy 'cinema' you would probably rather pluck your eyes out than watch a film like this anywhere in anyway

To each their own. I enjoy a large assortment of films. The Avengers and Batman Begins - or 12 Monkeys and The Usual Suspects - or The Triplettes of Bellville and The Lives of Others - or 12 Angry Men and The Seventh Seal. Hardly fair to say that someone who would 'enjoy' 'cinema' would 'rather pluck their eyes out' than 'watch' a 'film' like this 'anywhere'.

Interestingly, you used the term 'Film' to describe The Avengers, which some people would jump down YOUR throat for - since this was an almost All-Digital release.