House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power among the 10 most pirated series of 2022

Hacking still has a bright future ahead of it. Like every beginning of the year, variety unveils the list of the most pirated programs of the previous year, in particular thanks to data from MUSO, a company specializing in data and anti-piracy.

In 2022, the top 10 most pirated series in the United States contains the globally popular House of the Dragon (HBO/OCS), Rings of Power (Amazon Prime Video), rick and morty (Adult Swim) or Moon Knight (Disney+)… But no Netflix series.

HBO and anime in mind… but not Netflix

The 10 most pirated series in the United States in 2022 (by share of internet requests):

• House of the Dragon (season 1) – 17%
• chain saw man (season 1) – 13%
• rick and morty (season 6) – 12%
• running man (season 1) – 12%
• Moon Knight (season 1) – 9%
• Bleach (season 1) – 9%
• The Eminence in Shadows (season 1) – 8%
• The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power – 7%
• SPY x FAMILY (season 1) – 7%
• The Rising of the Shield Hero (season 2) – 6%

The absence of Netflix content is obvious. While Stranger Things, ozark Or Wednesday are among the most watched series of the year, yet they do not appear in this top. Blame it on the democratization of account sharing, which allows many spectators to see the programs of the platform without risking themselves on piracy sites, and which goes under the radars of MUSO. A practice that would affect 100 million households and that Netflix wants to stem with new restrictions planned for spring 2023.

The other important information is the notable presence of Japanese anime (Bleach, SPY x FAMILY, The Rising of the Shield Hero…). Even if these programs are now available simultaneously in Asia and the United States, their viewers have long become accustomed to waiting several months before seeing them arrive on SVOD, and piracy practices have remained well anchored, hence these figures. In France, most of these series are for example available on Crunchyroll.

More details in the study available on variety.

Spiderman And Batman most pirated

On the movie side, unsurprisingly, superhero movies are at the top of the charts. So, Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Batman, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness And Thor: Love and Thunder are among the most pirated movies of 2022.

The 10 most pirated films in the United States in 2022 (in share of internet requests):

• Spider-Man: No Way Home – 21%
• The Batman – 13%
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – 10%
• Thor: Love and Thunder – 9%
• black adam – 9%
• Uncharted – 8%
• The Eternals – 8%
• Top Gun: Maverick – 8%
• Jurassic World: The World After – 7%
• Encanto – 6%

According to MUSO’s calculations, a film’s piracy intensity generally coincides with its availability on VOD and SVOD streaming platforms, which allow for the online availability of high-quality versions. In this regard, the shortening of the availability window due to the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed these releases to arrive on piracy sites much faster.

By comparison, movies like The Batman And Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness found themselves available for streaming – and therefore on pirate sites – only 45 days after their theatrical release. Top Gun: Maverick stayed almost three months exclusively in theaters before arriving on VOD, which no doubt explains its longevity in cinemas. With $1.488 billion raised worldwide, Top Gun: Maverick is one of the huge movie hits of 2022.

Although streaming platforms and governments are increasing restrictions to reduce piracy, there is still no effective magic formula to curb it effectively. So it’s a safe bet that we’ll see The Last of Us, The Mandalorian And Loki appear in this ranking next year…