AfterDawn: News

'Avatar' DVD-Screener hits P2P, torrents

A DVD-Screener copy of the highest-grossing film of all-time, Avatar, has hit P2P and torrents today, coming just a few days after Academy members received the screener from Fox.

Until today, telesync versions had been available, and total downloads were estimated at over 2 million just from torrent downloads. The first copy available was Avatar DVDScr xvid - IMAGiNE.



The new screener will likely see many times that amount of downloads, but Fox should have little to worry about as Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all-time and will undoubtedly be the best selling DVD in years and the biggest Blu-ray release of all-time by a long shot.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 4 Feb 2010 17:01

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• 35 comments

• cyprusrom

  Yeah, unfortunately most of the encodes have bad frame rate/jerky video.
  
  I think it would be ridiculous if they would cry out losses because of piracy...

  4.2.2010 18:06 #1

• jos22

  Originally posted by cyprusrom: Yeah, unfortunately most of the encodes have bad frame rate/jerky video.
  
  I think it would be ridiculous if they would cry out losses because of piracy...true crap copy from the crappy p2p release groups.
  
  most people will want a bluray dump of this if they are gonna pirate it.
  
  but fox will b*tch about it. but it won't make a difference. it still having sold out screening in local cinema here which opened before the US. the 2D version is dropped from the cinema since mid jan

  4.2.2010 19:52 #2

• Pop_Smith

  Fox might complain, something along the lines of "It could have made it higher on the all-time list if it hadn't been pirated."
  
  I'm not sure how "recent" these totals are but according to Box Office Mojo Avatar is currently sitting at number 21 and is about $28 million away from hitting #20, which will probably happen this week/weekend.
  
  CNN.com's current main story is something Avatar-related. It's titled "'Avatar': How far from reality?", see here.

  4.2.2010 20:07 #3

• rtm27

  from Box Office Mojo:
  
  ALL TIME WORLDWIDE GROSSES (in millions)
  
  1 Avatar Fox $2,077.3
  
  2 Titanic Par. $1,843.2
  
  3 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $1,119.1
  
  4 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest BV $1,066.2
  
  5 The Dark Knight WB $1,001.9

  4.2.2010 22:16 #4

• Pop_Smith

  @rtm27, When I said "Avatar is currently sitting at #21..." that is on the list that is adjusted for inflation.
  
  All current news of "Avatar is number 1 overall" is not adjusted for inflation.

  4.2.2010 22:20 #5

• rtm27

  @ pop smith
  
  The numbers I posted are for worldwide. Some of the movies on the adjusted for inflation listing were not tracked worldwide, which is why their total is different than the US total.

  4.2.2010 22:24 #6

• cyprusrom

  How much do you think a movie like "Gone With Wind", (which I think is one of the highest grossing onse when "adjusted for inflation") would make nowadays? Probably not more than any other cheesy love story that's coming out and is gone in a weekend today...

  4.2.2010 23:37 #7

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by cyprusrom: How much do you think a movie like "Gone With Wind", (which I think is one of the highest grossing onse when "adjusted for inflation") would make nowadays? Probably not more than any other cheesy love story that's coming out and is gone in a weekend today...As I've posted in other Avatar articles, it is impossible to compare Gone With The Wind, which is a classic from an era where movies where just getting started to Avatar, no matter how much tickets have inflated since then. Now the first Star Wars, on the other hand...

  4.2.2010 23:52 #8

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by cyprusrom: Yeah, unfortunately most of the encodes have bad frame rate/jerky video.
  
  I think it would be ridiculous if they would cry out losses because of piracy...Also, cyprus, ViSiON release is rock solid, no framerate issues.

  5.2.2010 00:04 #9

• cyprusrom

  Quote:Originally posted by cyprusrom: Yeah, unfortunately most of the encodes have bad frame rate/jerky video.
  
  I think it would be ridiculous if they would cry out losses because of piracy...Also, cyprus, ViSiON release is rock solid, no framerate issues.
  ^^^Thanks mate,I just saw that a few seconds ago... when I left in the afternoon, is wasn't out yet. Will give it a try!(I already paid FOX for a cinema ticket, so we're good on that part::)

  5.2.2010 00:16 #10

• cyprusrom

  I think I'll wait untill tomorrow or so, I read of some upcoming SecretMyth, some say Noir is better...I'll "sleep on it"!

  5.2.2010 00:45 #11

• Pop_Smith

  Originally posted by cyprusrom: How much do you think a movie like "Gone With Wind", (which I think is one of the highest grossing onse when "adjusted for inflation") would make nowadays? Probably not more than any other cheesy love story that's coming out and is gone in a weekend today...Maybe I am confused but I believe that half of the top ten have also have accrued their totals over several theatrical releases as noted by a little carrot next to the year.
  
  So, just for fun, I chose to totally exclude those that had multiple theatrical releases according to BoxOfficeMojo and re-do the list as I believe this gives us a bit better picture of who is really the all-time champion:
  
  1) The Sound of Music
  2) The Ten Commandments
  3) Titanic
  4) Jaws
  5) Doctor Zhivago
  6) Ben-Hur
  7) The Sting
  8) Jurassic Park
  9) Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
  10) Avatar
  
  If Avatar's current pace holds up (according to BoxOfficeMojo's numbers) it should pass up Fantasia (Currently #20) this weekend and Star Wars: Episode I on the proceeding weekend.

  5.2.2010 01:00 #12

• tatsh

  Since when is this site about the scene? Keep it to yourselves I say.

  5.2.2010 02:15 #13

• beanos66

  Quote:
  But these companies are greedyIt's not greed, [sarcasm]they like to spread the wealth, think of all the lawyers and creators of ineffectual DRM and "our" politicians they employ[/sarcasm], all to persecute their customers

  5.2.2010 03:55 #14

• NHS2008

  Thanks for the news!
  nw millions will go looking of it on their Private trackers!

  5.2.2010 07:52 #15

• revengine

  Yea Iv'e had a dvd copy of Avatar for a pretty good while now. Great movie. M4ck

  5.2.2010 09:23 #16

• geestar20

  Originally posted by tatsh: Since when is this site about the scene? Keep it to yourselves I say.This article isn't about the "SCENE"...Read the article title "'Avatar' DVD-Screener hits P2P, torrents"
  
  BTW, I agree that ViSiON is the best thus far.

  5.2.2010 10:16 #17

• revengine

  Opinions are like AzzHs everybody has got one as far as which copy they think is the best, but I've had a dvd copy since December 29th. ward

  5.2.2010 11:11 #18

• geestar20

  Quote:but I've had a dvd copy since December 29th.Define DVD Copy. The actual dvd (as in perfect copy) or a HD cam rip?

  5.2.2010 11:21 #19

• cyprusrom

  Quote:Quote:but I've had a dvd copy since December 29th.Define DVD Copy. The actual dvd (as in perfect copy) or a HD cam rip?LOL, probably some people call a "DVD Copy" a CAM rip put on a DVD:)).

  5.2.2010 11:49 #20

• FredBun

  quote:
  LOL, probably some people call a "DVD Copy" a CAM rip put on a DVD:)).
  
  Absolutly correct

  5.2.2010 12:16 #21

• liamog

  i couldnt find anything wrong with the imagine copy
  near perfect if you ask me

  5.2.2010 12:35 #22

• geestar20

  Quote:LOL, probably some people call a "DVD Copy" a CAM rip put on a DVD:)).Yup, I just wanted to hear what -revengine- had to say about this so called "DVD Copy" and make an ass of them self.

  5.2.2010 13:00 #23

• Mr-Movies

  None of the top five that rtm27 listed will be considered Classics in 20 years like Gone With The Wind and sooo many others of the 30’s thru 50’s. You can compare older movies like that without inflation due to the fact that they still hold up some 50+ years later. I personally don’t want Avatar FREE let alone paying $20 to go see it at the theater. It just shows how dumb society has become when horrible directors like Cameron put out this trash and the masses flock to it. Of the five that rtm27 listed The Dark Night is the only one halfway decent, but Christian BayHole totally sucks as an actor and is horrible as Batman, the rest of the cast of course was pretty good in that movie.

  5.2.2010 13:01 #24

• cyprusrom

  Originally posted by Mr-Movies: None of the top five that rtm27 listed will be considered Classics in 20 years like Gone With The Wind and sooo many others of the 30’s thru 50’s. You can compare older movies like that without inflation due to the fact that they still hold up some 50+ years later. I personally don’t want Avatar FREE let alone paying $20 to go see it at the theater. It just shows how dumb society has become when horrible directors like Cameron put out this trash and the masses flock to it. Of the five that rtm27 listed The Dark Night is the only one halfway decent, but Christian BayHole totally sucks as an actor and is horrible as Batman, the rest of the cast of course was pretty good in that movie.
  Of course, that's only your opinion, based on your tastes and biases...

  5.2.2010 13:15 #25

• pirkster

  Quote:Originally posted by cyprusrom: How much do you think a movie like "Gone With Wind", (which I think is one of the highest grossing onse when "adjusted for inflation") would make nowadays? Probably not more than any other cheesy love story that's coming out and is gone in a weekend today...As I've posted in other Avatar articles, it is impossible to compare Gone With The Wind, which is a classic from an era where movies where just getting started to Avatar, no matter how much tickets have inflated since then. Now the first Star Wars, on the other hand...I would also like to see a population/accessibility examined, too.
  
  Population has exploded since then, and there are more theatres everywhere around the world.
  
  I'd wager the Gone With the Wind figures were astounding, considering the number of folks who had access to see the movie vs those who actually did see the movie. A very high percentage, I'm sure. Much higher than any film could probably produce today. There are simply more entertainment options even though world population has increased sharply since then.
  
  The original poster doesn't have much of a point about the story behind Gone With the Wind, because most films are most relevant to the times they are introduced. Using that logic, a story like Avatar would never have even been greenlit back in the day because it wouldn't have been "sellable" to the public. So, trading places, GWTW likely still would have fared better.
  
  Distribution systems are bigger and more efficient today, and reach many, many more customers than they have in the past. GWTW likely tapped a higher percentage of the few customers it was able to reach in it's time compared to what Avatar did in today's global market. Not taking anything away from Avatar... I'm happy for his success, but GWTW deserves it's due credit for attaining a tremendous following in its time. Had Avatar attracted as many viewers as GWTW (as a percentage of those globally who had access to seeing the movie) it would be even much more successful than it even is today.

  5.2.2010 14:45 #26

• cyprusrom

  Quote:Quote:Originally posted by cyprusrom: How much do you think a movie like "Gone With Wind", (which I think is one of the highest grossing onse when "adjusted for inflation") would make nowadays? Probably not more than any other cheesy love story that's coming out and is gone in a weekend today...As I've posted in other Avatar articles, it is impossible to compare Gone With The Wind, which is a classic from an era where movies where just getting started to Avatar, no matter how much tickets have inflated since then. Now the first Star Wars, on the other hand...I would also like to see a population/accessibility examined, too.
  
  Population has exploded since then, and there are more theatres everywhere around the world.
  
  I'd wager the Gone With the Wind figures were astounding, considering the number of folks who had access to see the movie vs those who actually did see the movie. A very high percentage, I'm sure. Much higher than any film could probably produce today. There are simply more entertainment options even though world population has increased sharply since then.
  
  The original poster doesn't have much of a point about the story behind Gone With the Wind, because most films are most relevant to the times they are introduced. Using that logic, a story like Avatar would never have even been greenlit back in the day because it wouldn't have been "sellable" to the public. So, trading places, GWTW likely still would have fared better.
  
  Distribution systems are bigger and more efficient today, and reach many, many more customers than they have in the past. GWTW likely tapped a higher percentage of the few customers it was able to reach in it's time compared to what Avatar did in today's global market. Not taking anything away from Avatar... I'm happy for his success, but GWTW deserves it's due credit for attaining a tremendous following in its time. Had Avatar attracted as many viewers as GWTW (as a percentage of those globally who had access to seeing the movie) it would be even much more successful than it even is today.Based on a similar logic, how many choices did people have back then? How many options did people have for entertainment? Now you have hundreds of television shows, you have DVD rentals, direct streaming, movie downloads. Take all those options away, and I am sure a greater majority of people would've said "lets go and watch a movie", and out of those quite a few would've chosen Avatar for example.
  
  How many people did say in 1939 "I will wait and buy it on Blu Ray or DVD", or "I will rent it from Netflix"? None, because they didn't have the choice, the only choice was to see it when it was out, and they went...so there's your increase in numbers...
  All these speculations and "inflation adjustments" are close to being pointless, like comparing apples with oranges.

  5.2.2010 15:21 #27

• DVDBack23

  Quote:Quote:Quote:Originally posted by cyprusrom: How much do you think a movie like "Gone With Wind", (which I think is one of the highest grossing onse when "adjusted for inflation") would make nowadays? Probably not more than any other cheesy love story that's coming out and is gone in a weekend today...As I've posted in other Avatar articles, it is impossible to compare Gone With The Wind, which is a classic from an era where movies where just getting started to Avatar, no matter how much tickets have inflated since then. Now the first Star Wars, on the other hand...I would also like to see a population/accessibility examined, too.
  
  Population has exploded since then, and there are more theatres everywhere around the world.
  
  I'd wager the Gone With the Wind figures were astounding, considering the number of folks who had access to see the movie vs those who actually did see the movie. A very high percentage, I'm sure. Much higher than any film could probably produce today. There are simply more entertainment options even though world population has increased sharply since then.
  
  The original poster doesn't have much of a point about the story behind Gone With the Wind, because most films are most relevant to the times they are introduced. Using that logic, a story like Avatar would never have even been greenlit back in the day because it wouldn't have been "sellable" to the public. So, trading places, GWTW likely still would have fared better.
  
  Distribution systems are bigger and more efficient today, and reach many, many more customers than they have in the past. GWTW likely tapped a higher percentage of the few customers it was able to reach in it's time compared to what Avatar did in today's global market. Not taking anything away from Avatar... I'm happy for his success, but GWTW deserves it's due credit for attaining a tremendous following in its time. Had Avatar attracted as many viewers as GWTW (as a percentage of those globally who had access to seeing the movie) it would be even much more successful than it even is today.Based on a similar logic, how many choices did people have back then? How many options did people have for entertainment? Now you have hundreds of television shows, you have DVD rentals, direct streaming, movie downloads. Take all those options away, and I am sure a greater majority of people would've said "lets go and watch a movie", and out of those quite a few would've chosen Avatar for example.
  
  How many people did say in 1939 "I will wait and buy it on Blu Ray or DVD", or "I will rent it from Netflix"? None, because they didn't have the choice, the only choice was to see it when it was out, and they went...so there's your increase in numbers...
  All these speculations and "inflation adjustments" are close to being pointless, like comparing apples with oranges.Exactly my point as well Cyprus. Also, how many movies were even released in 1939? 20 at most. Nowadays we have hundreds of releases, with many considered "blockbusters." In 1939, I would have seen Gone With The Wind too, what other movie was I going to see? :P

  5.2.2010 15:29 #28

• cyprusrom

  ^^^Indeed DVDBack....
  I am sure they released quite a few movies in 1939, part of the "Golden Age" era for Hollywood, but most of them I would probably consider a torture to sit through...Differen times, different tastes. GWTW would probably would nowadays make enough money just to cover costs...It would become an instant "classic" forgotten...

  5.2.2010 15:39 #29

• Daniel_1

  Ahhhhhh no. I have seen at least 5 versions of this "screener" (after I yelled at the people who downloaded it and asked them if they had $250,000. to throw away then give it to me) and every one of these versions were out of sync-choppy-jerky-washed out color-or just horrendisly encoded so as to make them worthless. And that was on a computer screen, the larger the screen went the worse it got.
  
  Personally, I dont think James Cameron nor any studio in Hollywood has a bleedin thing to worry about as if this is the best they can do and call them screeners, then Hollywood is not losing any money over this or losing less money then the workers cost them when they take (ie steal) props from the soundstage.

  5.2.2010 16:12 #30

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by cyprusrom: ^^^Indeed DVDBack....
  I am sure they released quite a few movies in 1939, part of the "Golden Age" era for Hollywood, but most of them I would probably consider a torture to sit through...Differen times, different tastes. GWTW would probably would nowadays make enough money just to cover costs...It would become an instant "classic" forgotten...http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Movie_releases_in_1939
  
  19 movies, the Sherlock Holmes and Wizard of Oz are the only other classics there, that I can see.

  5.2.2010 16:26 #31

• cyprusrom

  Those are I think in a special category, among others, in "History Politics ans Society"...
  The list of total releases is more comprehensive:
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_films_of_1939

  5.2.2010 16:38 #32

• Omen159

  If you want to just watch it right now online you can go to http://www.icefilms.info/ it is there to be watched for free and if you follow the optional directions you can get it a better connection. There are 1000's of movies available to watch on demand.

  5.2.2010 17:58 #33

• DVDBack23

  Originally posted by cyprusrom: Those are I think in a special category, among others, in "History Politics ans Society"...
  The list of total releases is more comprehensive:
  
  " target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ame...of_1939
  
  Thanks Cyprus.

  5.2.2010 21:36 #34

• pmshah

  I believe MAXSPEED is the DVD screener. I just watched the "Sample" with someone, looked good.

  6.2.2010 08:13 #35