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Oscar Win Boosts Hurt Locker’s Piracy Numbers

The Hurt Locker was the big winner at Sunday’s Academy Award show. The film took home six Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow. As a result, the film has been the most sought-after and downloaded movie on BitTorrent in the days since.

hurt lockerWhile BitTorrent’s Oscar went to District 9, the Academy members chose The Hurt Locker as the best picture of 2009. As was the case with most previous Oscar winners, the film’s overwhelming win encouraged many BitTorrent users to fire up their download client to see what all the fuzz is about.

The day after the award show ‘the hurt locker’ was the most typed in search phrase on BitTorrent, with ‘hurt locker’ ending up in ninth place. This increased demand was also reflected in the download numbers which skyrocketed. Since its win at the Oscars the film has been downloaded well over a million times.

Interestingly, The Hurt Locker was already available online in high quality for more than a year, and months before it premiered in movie theaters in the United States. The film’s screener leaked in February of last year, but it has never generated as many downloads as it did this week. Thanks to the Oscar boost, the total number of Hurt Locker downloads on BitTorrent are now nearing 10 million.

The sudden rise in demand is of course not limited to BitTorrent and other file-sharing networks. A film that does well on BitTorrent is usually doing well at the box-office or in the movie stores too, and indeed, DVD sales for The Hurt Locker went up at an equal rate.

This week the DVD topped the bestseller list at the online retailer Amazon and Director of Sky Box Office, Ian Lewis, reports a “significant increase” in demand on its Sky Box pay-per-view service. Similarly, the number of theaters playing the film is doubling this weekend to accommodate the ‘Oscar Bounce.’

The Hurt Locker was not the only Oscar winner to see a boost in unauthorized downloads after last Sunday. Crazy Heart, The Blind Side and Precious and Up saw a similar but less pronounced upswing.

The Day After the Oscars

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  • lol

    fail

  • Huggybaby

    Too bad veterans hate the movie. Another war movie for civilians, by civilians.

    If it hadn’t had an agenda it wouldn’t have had a chance on Oscar night. Another Hollywood fail.

  • rawr

    ^my dad has been a vet of every conflict since the original desert storm and outranks all the QQ’rs and says hurt locker was amazing

    hurt locker is good, go cry because your crappy avatar lost

  • worpre

    makes me want to download as well

  • http://www.eZee.se www.eZee.se

    I actually saw the movie after seeing it on TF’s most downloaded list _before_ the Oscars.

  • defrag

    @ 3
    ^my dad has been a vet of every conflict since the original desert storm …wtf? i thought we stopped using horses in war years ago?

  • lol

    i didnt think that the movie was that good..

    i mean its not bad.. but like for example..

    the tard sees the guy on the cell phone and they all run around with there heads cut off and 400 scenes of them running endlessly and he gets way away from the bomb and the bomb goes off and all he does is fall down with a flak suit on and HES DEAD. I mean mabye i dont know something about bombs but it doesnt matter.. he sure as hell looked like he was way away from it and even if he got hit by flak he should of lived. STUPID.

    also no terrorist would wait around and act suspicious with a cell phone and call right in front of the scene.. completely stupid.

    or mabye i just dont understand something.

  • John Down

    Oh well, I watched the movie after it won the oscars and I must say I was very surprised to find out it wasn’t that good as I would have expected.

    It appeared to me more like an excuse for the whole war in middle east business and judging by the ratings, it was a good one too.

    I’m glad I didn’t pay any money for watching this movie and it will definitely NOT become a part of my DVD collection.

  • Ninja

    Those movies with terrorism and military are just US propaganda as far as I’m concerned. But let us be fair, even movies with this kind of goal can be good…

    Wonder if I should check it…

    Interestingly downloads went up and then DVD sales went up. I wonder how much file sharing was involved in the DVD revenues. MAFIAA tards would say file sharing ate billions of revenues and that no file sharer ever bought a copy. O wait, I’m being unfair towards the the down syndrome ppl, they are much better than MAFIAA as people and much smarter if u ask me.

  • Anonymous

    10 million downloads eh?

    Who all went onto
    a) buy the film, so Piracy increased sales then

    b) thought it was sh!7, so immediately deleted from their \HD after 10 mins

    No lost sales there then, either

    WIN WIN

  • Anonymous

    poor traumatized americans risking their lives for iraqi families…yeah right

  • Unseasoned Dime

    DVD revenues went up despite cheapskate Pirates, due to the OSCAR Duh!

  • Anonymous
  • Will

    Fuck you #11, you coward!

  • Huggybaby

    There are so many rules of engagement, it’s unbelievable the restraint our troops have to show. Look the wrong way at a civilian and get court martialed or Article 15ed. They’re fighting with both hands behind their backs. So yeah, they do risk their lives for the civilians over there, big time.

    Then the Iraqis put out some photoshopped picture of a bogus “atrocity” and our news fools slobber on themselves to show it all over the place.

  • Shin no Noir

    @7

    It’s the shockwave that’s deadly.

  • wtf

    man the movie is crap defusing bombs all the timw wtf is that ?
    man and the camera man is amature !
    black hawk down is best war movie !

  • oscartorrents.com fan

    What ever happened to ?

    http://www.oscartorrents.com

    It was a great site and I hope it returns.

  • The Damascian

    @14 shut up you American-consumer-no-good-brain-washed-idiot

  • w00t

    @7

    That guy with the phone was not a terrorist, Mobile phone signals can set off IEDs. So they guy was just ordering a pizza and the signal set off the bomb!

  • woot

    at 7
    your right the bombs fragments or flack as called did not hit him the bombs blast wave that’s invisible went straight through him. thus the blood in the visor of his suite.

  • Louw

    Three things:
    1.At least by invading other countries the USA keeps the dysfunctional men away from the US;
    2.In 400 years when a more advanced race finds this movie they will understand why the human race became extinct; and
    3. If the USA thinks that they will win the war against terror by fighting in this way they are in for a big surprise…just think guy in tank shooting at sniper….can Israel please help the USA???

  • Ty

    The movie was rather disappointing. It was over-dramatic and showed a group which took unrealistic risks. It was an aimless combination of unrelated scenes, except for the little boy, which still didn’t really make sense. I do not have any idea why this won an oscar? Can some enlighten me?

    @22
    1. True
    2. Very true! :)
    3. The only way the war will ever be “won” is when they give up or stop recruiting. Obama has made it clear the troops will be withdrawn, so they are probably just buying time until the US leaves and then will claim it as a victory (i.e. the Americans running away). If the US wants to win the war, the only way is a permanent occupation. However, resources would be better spent elsewhere. I do agree with you that Israel would be the best country to assist the US, however will it listen? Who knows?

    I’m happy to be living in America, but the honest truth is that some wars are just not worth fighting. I think that includes Iraq and especially Afghanistan. If the Afghans dried out the resources of Russia, it will surely do the same to the US. The question is it worth spending billions killing people who live in caves? It would be better in my opinion to follow the way Israel fights the terror problem and protect us here!

  • General Snus

    Its fuss, not fuzz.

  • Oscar

    Haha, the hurt locker isn’t even near reflecting reality. But hey its Hollywood ;-)

  • Hop2

    people who tink they know whats going on really dont know whats going on , and the people who really tink they kno whats going on really really dont know whats going on

  • Darryl Chalmers

    Lemme break it down for you: Iraqi’s are just uneducated, poor Muslims (Muslims are worthless) who would die of a number of causes _anyhow_ if the brave personnel of the US Armed Services were not there defending democracy and the US right to the oil reserves.

    So any and all Iraqi casulties are acceptable – it just doesn’t matter.

    In light of this why _shouldn’t_ the US defend the right to Iraqi oil reserves and maintain a firm grip on the Middle East? The uneducated, worthless arabs have been killing each other for years and squandering the oil they were blessed with by God – so the US is simply ensuring that resources are handed out fairly according to need. It is clear (I dare anyone to argue this) that the US needs more oil than any other nation on Earth presently.

    This is why I suuport the brave men and women fighting the Islamic fundamentalists in Iraq. The Islamists are a particuar brand of stupid: they keep on fighting in spite of taking massive losses and having to resort to blowing themsleves up – see, even they consider themselves absolutely without worth.

    The US should stay in Iraq until the job is done – the niggah Obama in power is taking the stance that his people have taken for thousands of years and accepting defeat and leaving a job half done.: all resistance crushed, recognised multinational companies such as Shell, Exxon and Chevron extracting the oil and give the Iraqi people a chance at Christianity and becoming better people.

    At the moment, since they are not following the One True Faith but rather the Anti-Christ Mohammed, they are in hell on earth and are being roundly defeated by the forces of good. The US has god on it’s side – how can they expect to win?

  • Sceptre

    Never seen it.. don’t plan on it either. Don’t care for war unless it is the apocalypse by war and the extinction of us all.

  • Anonymous

    Sceptre: A boy who live with his parents, hates humanity due to his never been out of his bedroom except for school (where, naturally he is not popular) and is quite happy to sit on the sidelines criticising men who go and fight to maintain his freedom.

    What a loser…

  • lol

    @27 Darryl Chalmers: are you mentally f@cked or what??
    LMAO! :D

  • Shin no Noir

    @23
    > It was over-dramatic and showed a group which took unrealistic risks.

    I haven’t seen the movie yet, but last month it was discussed on a Dutch tv show with a senior explosives expert with 30 years of experience. He explained that disposal experts are obsessed with defusing bombs, and therefore often take unnecessary risks.

    The discussion from the show (Dutch): http://dewerelddraaitdoor.vara.nl/Video-detail.628.0.html?&tx_ttnews%26tt_news%5B=14988&tx_ttnews%26backPid%5B=626&tx_ttnews%26cat%5B=148&kalender=1265895180&cHash=e4657c2cb6

  • Sceptre

    @anonymous

    A lowlife who judges people without no just cause. Someone who is afraid to post his name because he is weak and doesn’t know what the f**k he is talking about. A true shittalker and “know it all” Someone who assumes everyone is a child to cover up his own youth. Gets crazy assumptions from posts.

    Said I don’t care for war… and unless it stops, one will finally stop it all for us.

    What a nobody…

  • Shin no Noir

    Hmm, that link doesn’t work… Take 2: http://preview.tinyurl.com/hurtlockerdwdd

  • Ouch!

    I didn’t like the movie atall.

  • Anonymous

    @Spetre: “Someone who is afraid to post his name because he is weak”

    You do realise that by virtue of the fact that you think you are “strong” because you post under a nickname that just proves how much of a child cut off from reality due to living in front of your computer you are right?

    I stand by my claim that you are shit talking strong, honest men who are fighting for the very freedoms you enjoy. Who is a weak coward?

  • Yemaya

    War glorification plotless piece of shit for the retarded masses.

    The Russians have made the best war movies ever. There’s nothing Hollywood can do about that. Ever heard of Idi i Smotri or Andrey Ryublov? Of course not.

    When you have grown up brainwashed by Hollywood and MTV what can one expect? The Hurt Locker, of course. What else?

  • Sceptre

    @35

    lol and yet you continue so I’ll finish this up and be done with you. Yea I use a name here that is what that box is there for. Not my real name, but it’s not that kind of box. And your whole thinking I’m some child shows what I meant by you assume shit. With your turning around of the shit talking and weak terms. To try to further bash something/me that may have pissed you off.

    And the whole don’t know what your are talking about.. is just that. Never dis-respected anyone who ever fought in wars. You insist I’m insulting men who fight for my freedom. No it’s very sad and more continue to die. How you got that from my post… is beyond me. Everything these days seems to make war look alright. Movies or game after game of war. Rather not watch any of the sort. Just because I won’t ever watch this movie or I don’t care for war at all, doesn’t mean I don’t care for those who have experienced the suffering of war. For whatever cause it might have been. Be it American or any other country.

    So that’s about it, so you and everyone who happens to read this knows what I meant. I don’t think anyone but yourself came to that conclusion from my post. Only a government/war fighter/family of such would lash out like that. You can continue to bash me if you like… I’ll just dismiss it like the rest of it.

  • Anonymous

    I liked the movie, it was nice action blast, whit some to none reality in it. And let me say i was in bomb disposal unit during my army days.

  • jeezuz

    @ sceptre

    Go download a comic

  • Reggit

    @27 Darryl Chalmers – Jesus d00d! a bit hard line! but what the hell!

    I have to admit, i really like a good war movie and The Hurt Locker was no different – i caught it about 6 months ago and really enjoyed it! I was surprised because i wasnt really expecting much. I even bought the DVD, i mean, i couldnt watch it @ the cinema (wasnt showing) but i felt kinda guilty really enjoying a movie and not paying for it, so i bought the DVD, i doubt ill ever take it out of the wrapper (Ive got it on my PC) but although i dont download games, i still download a lot of movies, but if one of them is a truely good flick, i dont mind giving up my money….i just wont pay for crap – unfortunately 99% of what Hollywood produces is crap =P

    As far as the war comments go, Iraq is yet another “American Vietnam”, we might wanna make sure they dont nuke us, but ultimately full-time occupation is fool hardy, and the only way the Iraq Government will learn, is to make their own mistakes…even if it takes 100 years, ultimately the citizens of a country will become unified and empowered (usually through technology – just like filesharing) and will fight for what they want – what is right…

  • Anonymous
  • air head

    War glorification plotless piece of shit for the retarded masses.

  • defrag

    @ 27 Mar 13, 2010 at 12:41 by Darryl Chalmers

    i think its quite apparent who is uneducated and worthless

  • Anonymous

    “War glorification plotless piece of shit for the retarded masses.”

    Nice, here’s an idea: WHY DON’T YOU WATCH THE FILM BEFORE SAYING STUFF ABOUT IT AS YOU WILL INEVITABLY BE WRONG.

  • Anonymous

    @Speculum: “lol and yet you continue so I’ll finish this up and be done with you. Yea I use a name here that is what that box is there for. Not my real name, but it’s not that kind of box.”

    Oh so now you drop the idea that it makes me “weak” by not entering a name? Have you realised how silly it was to say that or something

    “And your whole thinking I’m some child shows what I meant by you assume shit. With your turning around of the shit talking and weak terms. To try to further bash something/me that may have pissed you off.”

    Spoken like a 14 year old… I pray to god you not older than that.

    “And the whole don’t know what your are talking about.. is just that.”

    WUT?

    “Never dis-respected anyone who ever fought in wars. You insist I’m insulting men who fight for my freedom. No it’s very sad and more continue to die. How you got that from my post… is beyond me.”

    Exactly – you happy to sit back and let other people fight for you whilst harping on about “I hate war, war sux, BAWWW”. Too young to realise that the world is a place of unequals, good vs. evil and people who are willing to kill your country.

    “Everything these days seems to make war look alright. Movies or game after game of war. Rather not watch any of the sort. Just because I won’t ever watch this movie or I don’t care for war at all, doesn’t mean I don’t care for those who have experienced the suffering of war. For whatever cause it might have been. Be it American or any other country.”

    Whatever, I bet you do absolutely nothing other thanwrite words here for victims of war. Oh and most people can seperate fantasy and reality so they don’t think movies and games have much toi do with war actually.

    “So that’s about it, so you and everyone who happens to read this knows what I meant. I don’t think anyone but yourself came to that conclusion from my post.”

    Yeah right, just because I’m teh only one with the balls to call you out don’t think others can’t see what a snivelling mess you are…

    “Only a government/war fighter/family of such would lash out like that.”

    WUT? War fighters are the heroes you’re rallying against you do realise – so now what… you consider yourself superior and elitist compared to our brave warfighters?

    “You can continue to bash me if you like… I’ll just dismiss it like the rest of it.”

    Thanks! I hope you do a better job of “dismissing” it this time as you did write a huge post about it and that’s not exactly shrugging it off as far as I’m concerned. If it meant nothing to you you could actually just ignore it but I guess you have some ussies to work out still (protip: you might think that I am right on many things).

  • bleh

    Film winning or getting nominated to an oscar = crappy movie. Now I know that this movie will be pretty bad since it even won.

  • Captain Music

    @47

    The Departed
    No Country for Old Men

  • Antony Hopkins

    @27:

    Typical american soldier, rude, uneducated, and brainwashed by the Uncle Sam.

    @30: Yep he is.

    @43: It’s clear enough. These people “fighting for Iraqi’s freedom” are just brainwashed idiots.

    Who the hell asked them to fight in the first place?

    Mind your own business, American fuckt@rds. You’re fuck*d up enough already.

  • Antony Hopkins

    @27:

    We don’t give a crap about what US needs. Especially if to get it, they have to kill innocent people.

  • Guess It

    All In All the Movie Was Alright Oscar Award Winning No Common People Your All Better Than This

  • Einstein

    Does this mean that Avatar lost Million$ due to “piracy”?

  • OBEDIENT

    @ # 27, Darryl Chalmers
    “brave personnel of the US Armed Services were not there defending democracy and the US right to the oil reserves.”
    If you only knew how STUPID you sound!!! Maybe you are trying to make a point by doing so, but if not……I bet that when something like 9/11 happens you are the first one crying like a little girl and pissing in your pants (like so many other “Brave men” did). Don’t you realize that the terr0rists can make the same argument you make?? “We have the right to retaliate against US transgressions and intrusions in our lands….”
    Get your head out of your a**, you moron.

  • Darryl Chalmers

    @OBEDIENT to MOMMY:

    When did I ever mention 9/11 dipshit? In case you forgot we invaded Iraq long before that cowardly terrist attack against civilians in the WTC. The greatest country in the world is in Iraq to DEFEND OUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO OIL and to maintain a large military presence in the rgion seeing as the towelheads can’t stop killing people over Allah and raping their women an getting away with it. And thanks for justifying us continuing military operations in that Godforsaken shithole of the Middle East – AS LONG AS WE ARE THERE THAT’S WE’RE THE TERRISTS WILL ATTACK US. So fuck yeah, towelheads will die as the terrists continue to try and disrupt us – GREAT NEWS and what’s more, as I said, teh country is such a 3rd world craphole anyway that IT LITERALLY DOESN’T MATTER HOW MANY A-RABS WE KILL, THEY ALL WOULDA DIED OF FECAL MATTERS INGESTED AND AT BIRTH COS THATS ALL THEY’LL EVER BE.

    Your own quote of me has me saying exactly that so obviously you have a bug up your ass about 9/11 or whatever in your shitty country that RELIES ON MINE TO F**CKING DEFEND YOU because your a bunch of pussies. French?

    Come to Texas and I’ll kick your skinny little butt youfailfuck.

  • Darryl Chalmers

    @OBEDIENT to MOMMY:

    When did I ever mention 9/11 dipshit? In case you forgot we invaded Iraq long before that cowardly terrist attack against civilians in the WTC. The greatest country in the world is in Iraq to DEFEND OUR GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO OIL and to maintain a large military presence in the rgion seeing as the towelheads can’t stop killing people over Allah and raping their women an getting away with it. And thanks for justifying us continuing military operations in that Godforsaken shithole of the Middle East – AS LONG AS WE ARE THERE THAT’S WE’RE THE TERRISTS WILL ATTACK US. So fuck yeah, towelheads will die as the terrists continue to try and disrupt us – GREAT NEWS and what’s more, as I said, teh country is such a 3rd world craphole anyway that IT LITERALLY DOESN’T MATTER HOW MANY A-RABS WE KILL, THEY ALL WOULDA DIED OF FECAL MATTERS INGESTED AND AT BIRTH COS THATS ALL THEY’LL EVER BE.

    Your own quote of me has me saying exactly that so obviously you have a bug up your ass about 9/11 or whatever in your shitty country that RELIES ON MINE TO F**CKING DEFEND YOU because your a bunch of pussies. French?

    Come to Texas and I’ll kick your skinny little butt you failfuck. (dang moderation uis BS)

  • Anonymous

    @rawr
    im sure your dady was a big pouge that never left the fob, if i had to guess i woold say he was probely from the S1 shop.

    PS. pouge = army office b#tch
    fob = forward operating base

  • jon

    what freedoms of the western world is got to do with the war in iraq .2nd world war yes no one had a choice cause we didnt wont to be jap or german .the iraqies are coming oh no im so scared lol

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  • meh

    What the hell? That’s the movie during which I literally fell asleep in the middle because nothing was going on. The sniping scene was cool, but that’s about it. I can’t believe this shit won any Oscars at all.

  • the beast

    Hurt Locker (HL) is okay but it has nothing on HBO’s Gen. Kill. As a matter of fact the least of the Gen. Kill episodes tops HL.

  • Yatti420

    And remember kids.. When you download The Hurt Locker make sure you have an ipfilter loaded into utorrent and peerblock configured correctly..

  • Freedom fighter

    I’m with you Darryl Chalmers #54!

  • Anonymous

    The movie is in the end just propaganda. Hurt Locker as a movie was a weak one, imo.

  • rock

    this movie was was pretty good seen it before the oscars.
    http://www.movietorrentblog.com

  • www.LinkCyb.org

    @37 gtfo. christianity makes you biased, untrustworthy and just as elitist as the Islamic suicide bombers.. You’re worth less than them to be honest.

    @42 “War glorification plotless piece of shit for the retarded masses.”
    - Agreed. The story was far too simple, its only purpose is to make people feel guilty about trying to end the “war”. And those exact people are going to be sucked into this story, and will continue to fund it all.

    Its all just a hopeless circle :)
    Hoorah for the USA..

    Dicks.

  • Anonymous

    Fighting over the internet is exactly like running in the special olympics. even if you win, you are still retarded.

  • 7jades

    Thanks for this post! I personally think piracy is bad, but cant resist to watch the film by downloading! :)

    Bises,
    http://www.7jades.com

  • Antony Hopkins

    @54:

    The greatest country in the world hahaha yeah sure what an idiot

  • Anonymous

    @54: You have only one right, and it’s the one to go f**k off yourself.

  • BTGuard - BitTorrent Anonymously

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