Having your film leaked and downloaded for free by over 100,000 viewers a month before its release would normally be cause for concern, but “X-Men: Origins Of Wolverine,” which was pirated and illegally distributed online two weeks ago, is now clocking in unusually well in tracking polls.
According to Entertainment Weekly, “A tracking report containing consumer research statistics shows a high ‘wanna see’ rating for the film, which is said to be the No. 1 choice for young men and guys aged 31 and older.”
Although the tracking polls are in no way an exact science and do not always predict high opening weekends, the increased interest is great news for 20th Century Fox, especially since ‘Wolverine,’ was looking as though it was going to be a highly forgettable action release, one which could have easily slipped completely under the radar and suffered from low box-office sales.
But now, due to the leak, and the mostly positive reaction from the unfinished version (i.e. the infamous reaction of now unemployed Roger Friedman), the film is most likely looking at a better than expected opening weekend.
Some are going to look at this and say, “toldja! leaks help out with awareness!” which might be true to some extent, but people also tried to use illegal downloading as a positive spin for awareness of upcoming albums and look where that got the music industry, deader than Dillinger.