'Bloodshot' download: Vin Diesel's superhero flick tops charts as most pirated film
With movie halls across the globe having shut their doors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a number of movies are now releasing before the slated date on digital platforms. Many of them inevitably make their way to pirate sites.
While the world struggles to contain the dreaded coronavirus, businesses are looking for ways to mitigate the impact of the lockdown. Since making a run to the movie halls is no longer an option, film companies and distributors are teasing early digital release dates for a number of films in hopes that viewers might rent or buy these titles to keep them entertained during this period. And pirated websites are making the most of this by making all of these titles available to stream or download depending on the platform.
March 21 saw 'The Invisible Man', 'The Hunt' and 'Emma' been added for viewing and since March 27 more titles were added for netizens to readily view. 'Bloodshot' is the most popular title on these platforms and it became the most downloaded film on BitTorrent as of March 30. The film released in theaters on March 13 and the official synopsis read, "Based on the bestselling comic book, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force — stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not — but he’s on a mission to find out."
Usually, the digital releases come 90 days after a film's release but Sony Pictures announced the arrival of the superhero film on digital platforms on March 24 in response to the outbreak. After switching between second and third positions, the film is now on the top of the charts of the most downloaded film on unlicensed platforms.
The highly anticipated Will Smith-Vanessa Hudgens film 'Bad Boys for Life' has also found its way to the torrent and streaming platforms. It released in theaters in January this year ringing in $204 million and was supposed to be released for home viewing on March 31. However, HD copies of the film are already available for download. It is currently on number seven of the charts, placed after 'Star Wars: Episode IX.'
Guy Ritchie's action-comedy film 'The Gentleman' is also available in 1080p WEBRip format after being captured from platforms such as Amazon. The movie was previously slated for a home release on April 7 but was released early on March 24 and almost immediately made its way to unlicensed platforms.
Other recent titles that were made available on these platforms after their digital release include 'Onward', 'The Call of the Wild', 'Downhill', 'Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn', '1917' and 'The Way Back' also feature on the top 10 list of most downloaded films on BitTorrent.