Despite attempts by Hollywood to curtail the practice, movie pirating continues to be quite popular amongst Internet users.
News site TorrentFreak provided a list of the top 10 films pirated through BitTorrent for the past week, and several popular favorites made the list, including several that are still in theaters — and up for contention at this year's Academy Awards.
Leading the list at number one, however, is "Wreck-It Ralph," lighter fare not nominated for an Oscar. Disney's CG-animated comedy/adventure features a video game villain trying to create a new life for himself. The film has made $183 million at the box office, so pirating hasn't done too much damage to its earnings, though the movie is a bit less profitable than most Pixar-produced films. [See also: "Disney Infinity" Game Could Be Summer's Biggest Blockbuster ]
James Bond's latest adventure, " Skyfall," claims the second spot, though the movie is still expected to earn plenty from paying customers with its release on DVD/Blu-Ray next Tuesday.
A number of Oscar contenders also managed to make the list. The colorful Ang Lee epic "Life of Pi" sits firmly at number three; Paul Thomas Anderson's drama "The Master," which follows a "lost soul" joining up with a cult, ranked in at number five.
"Argo," Ben Affleck's tale of a real-life hostage rescue, comes in at number seven, and "Silver Linings Playbook," David O. Russell's frequently nominated love story featuring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, ranked number six. (That film, however, is still doing well at the box office, on its way to a $100 million haul from strong word-of mouth.)
However, one film that could very well be suffering damage from pirating is Warner Bros.' crime drama "Gangster Squad," which features Sean Penn and Josh Brolin. The film has made only $43 million at the box office thus far, lower than expected considering its star-studded cast.
The full list of the top 10 pirated movies is below, as reported by Torrentfreak.com:
1. "Wreck-It Ralph"
2. "Skyfall"
3. "Life of Pi"
4. "Gangster Squad"
5. "The Master"
6. "Silver Linings Playbook"
7. "Argo"
8. "Django Unchained"
9. " The Hobbit : An Unexpected Journey"
10. "The Haunting In Connecticut 2"