Study: Godzilla vs Kong takes £3.3m piracy hit
September 14, 2021
By Colin Mann
Internet security advisory firm Techshielder has analysed the most pirated films over the last year to find out how much piracy cost Hollywood.
Action films appear to be a big hit amongst online pirates, as this is the genre that has seen the biggest number of illegal downloads tied with the biggest amount of money lost; a total of 3,102,027 downloads led to £20,938,682.25 lost which is by far the highest toll in Techshielder’s ranking.
Following in second place is the adventure genre, which lost £1,732,644.00 by the 256,688 pirated copies of films. However, with a revenue of £183,728,020.24 studios will continue to thrive.
With £301,202,165.88 in revenue, comedy is one of the best-earning genres, despite the £1,773,589.50 lost as a result of 262,754 downloads.
All genres combined saw an huge box office revenue of £3,487,519,185.93 since the films were released in 2020 and 2021, alongside 6,146,617 illegal downloads of various films which caused the loss of an additional £41,489,664.75 in earnings.
It may be as result of Vin Diesel’s charms or the fact that Fast & Furious has had a cult following for two decades now, as despite the increasing threat of digital piracy with a colossal loss for the film industry as a consequence, the latest film F9: The Fast Saga earned £464,211,288.80 since its release in May of 2021.
Whilst the blockbuster is still to be seen on the silver screen in recently reopened cinemas, the film has already been pirated 102,636 times piling up to a loss of £692,793.00.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, released in 2019, saw £345,162,648.41 in box office revenue despite fewer cinema tickets sold because of the pandemic. However, the film was still downloaded illegally 59,720 times causing a loss of £403,110.00 for the studio.
Despite the fact Godzilla vs Kong saw the biggest amount of money lost to piracy, it still had an impressive revenue of £337,460,046.34 regardless of the 492,022 illegal downloads that left them at a loss of £3,321,148.50.
| Film | Year | Genre | Worldwide Box Office (£) | Total Number of Downloads | Total Loss (£) |
| Godzilla vs Kong | 2021 | Sci-fi | £337,460,046.34 | 492,022 | £3,321,148.50 |
| Wonder Woman 1984 | 2020 | Action | £11,989,925.77 | 460,056 | £3,105,378.00 |
| Black Widow | 2021 | Action | £249,313,152.20 | 428,163 | £2,890,100.25 |
| Tenet | 2020 | Action | £261,236,947.18 | 382,230 | £2,580,052.50 |
| Mortal Kombat | 2021 | Action | £60,194,157.58 | 381,288 | £2,573,694.00 |
| Jungle Cruise | 2021 | Adventure | £51,262,816.03 | 220,281 | £1,486,896.75 |
| Wrath of Man | 2021 | Action | £60,219,338.78 | 206,588 | £1,394,469.00 |
| The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard | 2021 | Action | £46,296,775.26 | 186,723 | £1,260,380.25 |
| The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | 2021 | Horror | £142,544,131.79 | 165,152 | £1,114,776.00 |
| A Quiet Place Part II | 2020 | Horror | £192,859,640.45 | 160,127 | £1,080,857.25 |
Highest Box Office Earnings Despite Illegal Downloads
| Movie | Year | Genre | Worldwide Box Office (£) | Total Number of Downloads | Total Loss (£) |
| F9: The Fast Saga | 2021 | Action | £464,211,288.80 | 102,636 | £692,793.00 |
| Demon Slayer: Mugen Train | 2019 | Fantasy | £345,162,648.41 | 59,720 | £403,110.00 |
| Godzilla vs Kong | 2021 | Sci-fi | £337,460,046.34 | 492,022 | £3,321,148.50 |
| Tenet | 2020 | Action | £261,236,947.18 | 382,230 | £2,580,052.50 |
| Black Widow | 2021 | Action | £249,313,152.20 | 428,163 | £2,890,100.25 |
| A Quiet Place Part II | 2020 | Horror | £192,859,640.45 | 160,127 | £1,080,857.25 |
| Cruella | 2021 | Comedy | £163,139,985.44 | 124,714 | £841,819.50 |
| The Croods: A New Age | 2020 | Family | £148,886,708.82 | 105,957 | £715,209.75 |
| The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | 2021 | Horror | £142,544,131.79 | 165,152 | £1,114,776.00 |
| Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway | 2021 | Adventure | £107,597,212.67 | 17,212 | £116,181.00 |