Piracy Can't Touch Avatar Ticket Sales

Online, December 19, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Mere hours before its official release here on North American soil, James Cameron's $400 million epic "Avatar" was published to the online community in the form of a pirated recording. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation attempted to contain the leaked material, but says a leak was inevitable. Eden Wright, a Fox representative, said that "piracy will play a much smaller role in stealing profits from [Avatar] due to the technological hurdles it imposes". The film was released in 3D, making reproduction through a third party device nearly impossible on that product. Thus, even though it was pirated, the 2D recording was nothing close to the experience offered at your local Cineplex.

"James Cameron's Avatar" first appeared on a blog GetTheNew.com. The blog follows the format of similar release websites which offer information on the latest entertainment releases and where they can be obtained via popular methods such as BitTorrent and direct download services. It is estimated that these release blogs now account for as much as 20% of online piracy.

When GetTheNew.com was contacted for comment, a representative sent us this email: "Our goal has never been to take anything away from the entertainment industries. Information on these releases is available on hundreds of sites like ours, but we [GetTheNew.com] do not host or provide any pirated materials. In-fact, our goal is to find a way to recapture potentially lost revenues and give it back to the industry that gives us these great releases. It's time the industry stops trying to punish pirates, and gives them a chance to give back without having to go to their local brick and mortar months after a release."

"James Cameron's Avatar" was released in North American theaters Friday, December 18, 2009, and is published by the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.