Of course, we in no way condone piracy, but it’s an undeniable part of the media landscape. The music, television, and film industry continue to grapple with the problem, which isn’t just mysterious teens in basements doing illegal things. Just before Christmas headlines were made when it was discovered that copies of "The Hateful Eight" and "The Revenant," sourced from awards season screeners, were floating online. That’s right, the leak came from the inside.
READ MORE: The Most Torrented Movies & TV Shows By State May Surprise You
But for the most part, piracy is about one of two things: people wanting to watch shows and movies easily and cost-effectively, or they don’t want to bother paying at all. However, when most consumers are given the option, they’ll gladly pay for a reasonably priced subscription service, as a recent survey in Australia noted about the fall of piracy in the country following the arrival of Netflix. However, piracy will never completely go away and it’s not shocking that some of the most popular movies and television shows are the ones people want to see most.
So what got people clicking on the torrent side of the internet in 2015? Blockbusters were the favored flavor in film as you might expect, with Christopher Nolan‘s "Interstellar" topping the list, which is particularly disheartening given that of all the movies made to be seen on the big screen across the last year or so, that was one of them. Meanwhile, "Game Of Thrones" topped the TV offerings once again, with "The Walking Dead" coming in behind. Check out the full rankings below. [Variety/Wall Street Journal]
Top Pirated Movies Of 2015
1. 46,762,310 estimated downloads "Interstellar"
2. 44,794,877 estimated downloads "Furious 7"
3. 41,594,159 estimated downloads "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
4. 36,881,763 estimated downloads "Jurassic World"
5. 36,443,244 estimated downloads "Mad Max: Fury Road"
6. 33,953,737 estimated downloads "American Sniper"
7. 32,126,827 estimated downloads "Fifty Shades of Grey"
8. 31,574,872 estimated downloads "The Hobbit: Battle Of The Five Armies"
9. 31,001,480 estimated downloads "Terminator: Genisys"
10. 30,922,987 estimated downloads "Kingsman: The Secret Service"
Top Pirated TV Shows Of 2015
- “Game of Thrones,” estimated 14.4 million downloads
- “The Walking Dead,” estimated 6.9 million downloads
- “The Big Bang Theory,” estimated 4.4 million downloads
- “Arrow,” estimated 3.9 million downloads
- “The Flash,” estimated 3.6 million downloads
- “Mr. Robot,” estimated 3.5 million downloads
- “Vikings,” estimated 3.3 million downloads
- “Supergirl,” estimated 3 million downloads
- “The Blacklist,” estimated 2.9 million downloads
- “Suits,” estimated 2.6 million downloads
