About that piracy is killing the movie business argument

Piracy is killing the movie business – that is the argument that the movie industry is using to try and force draconian copyright laws down our throat on a global level with things like ACTA. For every time a Bit Torrent is used a theater is killed has become a rallying cry for theater owners when in fact this year has seen incredible profits being made.

Record profits with fewer movies being shown according to research film Exhibitor Relations. With three full weekends still left in the year the total domestic revenue already stands at $9.64 billion and ticket sales are pacing ahead of last year by 3.6 percent.

Overall revenue was also enhanced by a 4.2 percent increase in the average ticket price, which came in at $7.48 this year, driven by a flurry of 3D movie releases that commanded premium admission charges.

The record revenue and increased admissions came as total movies released in the marketplace declined 17 percent to 520, according to Exhibitor Relations. It was the second straight year that the total number of films declined. That total had been steadily increasing each year until topping out at 631 in 2007.

According to Paramount distribution general manager Don Harris, this proves more product isn’t necessarily better for the marketplace.

“For us, the number we look at when we deal with groups like agencies is our revenue average per film,” said Harris, noting that his studio’s per-film yield stands at an industry-leading $120 million-plus this year. “Movies aren’t sold and released by the pound.”

Source: The Wrap

Amazing eh … less movies and yet record revenues. So exactly how much damage is all this industry killing piracy doing? Not much by the look of it.

top image courtesy of The Chive