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News reports are that it's all over the net and bootleg dvds are already on the street.
I wonder how much, if at all, this hurts a movie's business?
On the one hand this is an eagerly anticipated 100m movie with two of the biggest starts in the business so a lot of people are going to get their hands on a high quality rip this asap. Moreover, this is kind of a 'street cred' movie, and a lot of the demographic will love the opportunity to brag about having seen it first, for free.
On the other hand, a lot of people still are weary/ignorant/barred from p2p apps and in the end people need something to do on the weekend, and going to the movies is near the top.
Do you think this will significantly affect the movie's box office take? If the movie turns out to be really good, could it help?
Fwiw, here's what the DVD rip that's out looks like, the sound is on, it's not a bootleg, nor is it a pristine DVD rip but it is more than watchable:
"I reckon Martin Scorsese is sitting somewhere in an office in New York and he sees [the title] American Gangster and he's like, '[censored]! And I went with Casino?'" —Russell Crowe
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It won't hurt it that much. The copies are really bad and pirating is just part of the game nowadays.
The film is really really good. Plus the RZA is in it so u can't go wrong there. The leaked dvd is a academy award screener.