"Project X" was the most pirated film of 2012.
While the “Avengers” ruled the 2012 box office, the film did not top the most-pirated list of 2012. That honor goes to the rather small in scope “Project X,” a movie about teens throwing a wild party.
TorrentFreak made that call, based on the number of torrent downloads on BitTorrent. “Project X” was a surprise hit at the box office, grossing $100 million worldwide, with a reported budget of $12 million, according to IMDB. That's a pretty impressive haul, and despite the mixed-reviews the film garnered, “Project X” was a success for Warner Brothers. Still, it was a bit surprising to see “Project X” top the list of most-pirated 2012 movies.
Considering the number of anticipated, and hugely successful, films released in 2012, “Project X” was the number one movie to pirate, with over nine million torrent downloads, reports TorrentFreak. The list of most pirated movies of 2012 is an interesting one to look at because, while it mirrors the box office list slightly, there is plenty of differences between the two lists, with “Project X” being the most obvious example.
“The Avengers” earned over $1.5 billion worldwide with over $600 million domestically, easily earning the highest grossing movie of 2012 award. Following “The Avengers,” “The Dark Night Rises,” “The Hunger Games,” “Skyfall” and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” rounded out the top five according to Box Office Mojo.
For the most pirated films of 2012, a movie that was released in 2011 came in at number two. “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” was the second most pirated movie of 2012, with an estimated 8.5 million torrent downloads. “The Dark Night Rises,” at number three, was downloaded an estimated 8.3 times while “The Avengers” was downloaded an estimated 8.1 million times, notes TorrentFreak. Another movie released in 2011, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” was the fifth most pirated movie of 2012.
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“21 Jump Street,” another successful comedy hit, came in at number six. While “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” was a modest success in 2011, it's still popular a year after its release with pirates, downloaded and shared a reported 7.4 million times and landing as the seventh most pirated movie. “The Dictator” (7.3 million) and “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (6.9 million) came in at number eight and nine, respectively, on the list of most pirated movies of 2012.
Box office hits “The Hunger Games,” “Skyfall,” “The Amazing Spider Man,” “Brave,” “Ted,” “Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted,” “Taken 2,” “Men In Black 3” and “Dr. Suess' The Lorax” did not crack the top ten most pirated films of 2012.
Although “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” did not make the list of most pirated films of 2012, it's predecessor, 2011's “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1” did, coming in as the tenth most pirated movie of 2012.
It's interesting to see the disparity between the two lists. While plenty of films made over $200 million domestically, only two of the top grossing movies of 2012, “The Avengers” and “The Dark Night Rises,” made the list of most pirated movies of 2012.
