NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT >WOLVERINE SUCCESS LEAVES BOOTLEGGERS OUT IN THE COLD

WOLVERINE SUCCESS LEAVES BOOTLEGGERS OUT IN THE COLD

May 5 2009

New York, NY – There have many things that have been deemed the precursors to the death of the movie industry. The end of the studio system, television, the modern ratings system, video, DVD, and most recently downloads.  All previous challenges to the status quo have ultimately turned into a financial windfall for the industry and if
the recent success of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ is indication of the impact of downloading, Hollywood may once again have struck gold. Left on the outskirts though is the ever declining boot leg industry.

It was once a common thing to see the latest theatrical blockbuster for sale on the streets of New York and other major cities but more and more those independent dealers have been going the way of the Dodo as movie fans gain access to higher quality product from the comfort of their home. Now resigned to back alleys and small shelves in poorly trafficked convenience stores, downloading has left at least one former success story a historical tale.

“My sales have been dropping year after year. I make less and less with every movie and it’s forced me to lay off some of my best staff. I just can’t afford to pay them anymore and in order to keep up with all the latest movies I have to work 10 and 12 hour days,” said a local vendor who preferred to remain anonymous. “If I’m not out there getting product I don’t have anything to sell, which means less money, which means less product. It just spins out of control. It’s getting to the point where I don’t know if I can continue in the movie industry anymore. There’s just no money in it.”

The decline countrywide has been primarily attributed to the rise in downloading; a phenomenon that many in the industry felt would impact theatrical distribution and DVD sales. The widely publicized and downloaded Wolverine film, with over $87 million in its opening weekend, has thrown a wrench in that thinking. The massive success of the film has proven for many that downloading may neither help nor hinder the industry.

“Unless you physically went back in time and tried it the other way you have no way of knowing how the movie would have premiered without the leak but one thing is clear, if it’s a negative impact it’s a marginal one. People who download are the same
people who would buy a bootleg, only now they can do it from home,” said Scrape TV Entertainment analyst Tracey Temple. “Walking out in the street of any major city and you would be hard pressed to find a copy of Wolverine for sale anywhere, even when you can find a bootlegger. It’s just so much easier to sit at your desk and download a copy, better quality as well.”

Adding to the woes of independent retailers is the rise in industrialized bootlegging from organized crime and terrorist organizations, a connection which was recently voiced after a study by the MPA and Rand Corp.

“Those industries have been benefitting off the web for years and that support is coming back to bite them. Now there is this shrinking pie with the same number of people trying to get a piece and the little guys are being squeezed out. If this trend continues, and there is no reason to suspect otherwise, the good old days of jiggly out-of-focus movies may be coming to an end,” continued Temple. “That’s going to leave a lot of cell phone cameras going unused and street corners a whole lot emptier.”

The bootlegging industry does not release sales data.

Samantha Dryden, Entertainment Correspondent

NEWS > ENTERTAINMENT >WOLVERINE SUCCESS LEAVES BOOTLEGGERS OUT IN THE COLD