“Avatar: The Way of Water” topped the rating of pirated content in Russia

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Films “Avatar: The Way of Water” by James Cameron topped the list of films, the largest number of illegal copies of which were available in Russia in January 2023. The data is provided by the “Film Distributor’s Bulletin” with reference to a study by Group-IB.

The project was not officially presented in Russian cinemas due to the discontinuation of the Disney studio, so it was most actively distributed in the open spaces of the network. Also in the rating of the most popular films on pirate sites, surprisingly, was “Cheburashka”. The tape is still in theaters and continues to break box office records. The film has already managed to overcome the mark of 6 billion rubles.

However, the Russians wanted to watch not only Avatar and Cheburashka for free, but also other films that were not available in Russia. Among them are the French film “Comer from the Future”, the thriller “Menu” with Ralph Fiennes as a chef, “Operation Fortune” by Guy Ritchie, the sequel “Knives Out” and others.

At the same time, Group-IB analysts note that the discovery of a copy does not automatically indicate the number of its views. At the same time, there is a direct relationship between the number of pirated copies, the demand for content from the audience and the desire of pirates to satisfy this demand. At the global box office, the new “Avatar” managed to collect 2.133 billion dollars. The Russian “shadow” box office last weekend was 667 million rubles.

Avatar: The Way of Water also received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture of the Year. Other nominees for the award include Banshees of Inisherin by Martin McDonagh, Elvis by Baz Luhrmann, All Quiet on the Western Front by Edward Berger, Everything Everywhere and At Once by Daniel Scheinert and Dan Kwan, Fabelmans by Steven Spielberg, Tar by Todd Field , “Top Gun: Maverick” by Joseph Kosinski, “Triangle of Sorrow” by Reuben Ostlund and “The Women Speak” by Sarah Polley.