Boy Downloads

Stuff reports:

Smash-hit Kiwi film Boy has been illegally uploaded on to the internet, potentially slashing the earnings of its investors.

Boy is a great movie. I went to see it at the cinema and blogged about it here.

It is a shame it has been placed on the Internet, but not surprising.

The Taika Waititi-directed flick has had huge box office success, going on to gross $8.4 million at the box office since its release in March, placing it third on an adjusted list of all-time New Zealand film takings.

Worth noting this. Despite the downloads, it has been very profitable.

However, with it yet to be released overseas and on DVD, its availability online is expected to curtail its future earnings.

And this is why of course people placed it on the Internet – there was absolutely no legal way anyone overseas could pay for it and view it, and no legal way anyone in NZ could buy it to view at home.

The days when movie companies can release it for cinemas, but not for individual purchase is fast dying – just as the days when we had to wait six to 12 months to see a US block buster in NZ cinemas have faded.

The world is now one global market. Try and maximise revenue by only releasing it to one segment of the market, and the response is entirely predictable – it only takes one person out of five billion or so to place it online.

Boy has been a fantastic success. Kiwis overseas have heard about it and want to view it. When you make it impossible for them to pay to see it, no surprise that they will turn to the only way they can see it – file sharing.

The last time a Kiwi film was illegally copied, it cost investors about $1 million.

Jesus, I wish media would not print assertions as fact.  Assuming that every downloaded copy is a lost sale is economic lunacy.