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It seems the prediction that the cinema industry would die thanks to ever increasing online piracy is wide of the mark.
Australia recorded a 15% growth at the box office in 2009 compared to 2008, and that's on top of the 5% growth from 2007 to 2008. The record results, $AUD 1.09b, seems to show that increased piracy has had no negative effect at all. And early 2010 figures show that it will too be a bumper year, already up 19% compared to the same period last year.
While big hits, such as Avatar last year, and Inception this year, helped, but Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) chairman Mike Baard believes that innovation is the catalyst for the rapid growth of the industry. Executive director of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), Neil Gane, also believes innovations such as digital projection, 3D and bigger screens are helping in the fight against piracy.
"Good-quality entertainment simply can't be replicated by an inferior copy made on a camcorder," Gane says. "It is a very exciting time for the movie industry with the onset of 3D cinema; it's almost a next paradigm in the movie industry."
Actor Roy Billing, however, was convinced that piracy was something that is still hitting revenues. "You just wonder how much better a film may have performed [without illegal downloads], especially in DVD sales. They are quite important revenue streams for actors and filmmakers," he said.
But perhaps of lamenting lost profits that may or may not exist even if piracy was completely defeated, perhaps the industry can look at the examples they have set themselves and provide more innovation, better pricing, and a complete cinema experience that cannot be ripped, copied and distributed online.
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Australia recorded a 15% growth at the box office in 2009 compared to 2008, and that's on top of the 5% growth from 2007 to 2008. The record results, $AUD 1.09b, seems to show that increased piracy has had no negative effect at all. And early 2010 figures show that it will too be a bumper year, already up 19% compared to the same period last year.
While big hits, such as Avatar last year, and Inception this year, helped, but Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) chairman Mike Baard believes that innovation is the catalyst for the rapid growth of the industry. Executive director of the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), Neil Gane, also believes innovations such as digital projection, 3D and bigger screens are helping in the fight against piracy.
"Good-quality entertainment simply can't be replicated by an inferior copy made on a camcorder," Gane says. "It is a very exciting time for the movie industry with the onset of 3D cinema; it's almost a next paradigm in the movie industry."
Actor Roy Billing, however, was convinced that piracy was something that is still hitting revenues. "You just wonder how much better a film may have performed [without illegal downloads], especially in DVD sales. They are quite important revenue streams for actors and filmmakers," he said.
But perhaps of lamenting lost profits that may or may not exist even if piracy was completely defeated, perhaps the industry can look at the examples they have set themselves and provide more innovation, better pricing, and a complete cinema experience that cannot be ripped, copied and distributed online.
More:
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