The most pirated movies and series in 2021…are certainly not what you think

Massively pirated content in 2021 comes almost exclusively from streaming platforms
by subscription.

Illegal downloading continues its rise that began in 2020 with the health crisis and the containment measures put in place by the various countries of the world.

TV series are the most illegally downloaded while films are of less interest to Internet users

A study carried out in partnership by Akamai and the data analysis firm MUSO reveals that the various sites offering films or series in streaming or direct download were visited nearly 132 billion times between January and September 2021, an increase of 16% compared to the previous year.

In the top three ranking of the countries most fond of illegal downloading, we find the United States in first position, followed by Russia and India. France is in sixth position in this ranking.

Another interesting data from this study: if TV series are the most downloaded content in the world today, films are losing their appeal among viewers and only come in third place, behind books and magazines which account for alone nearly 30 billion views over the nine-month period analyzed by the study.

New studio policies disrupt consumer habits and make piracy easier

In the top 10 of the most downloaded series, the first position is occupied by Loki
, available on Disney+ , followed respectively by Wanda vision
, another Marvel Studios series and season 5 of Rick & Morty (Netflix). follow Falcon and the Winter Soldier
, The Walking Dead season 10, Game Of Thrones season 8, The Flash, vikings, True Beauty and finally the first season of Superman & Lois
.

As we can clearly see in this study, it is mainly series from SVOD services, and particularly Disney+, that monopolize the first places. The reason for this massive piracy? A budget dedicated to subscriptions which cannot be extended by consumers. If they are already subscribers to a Netflix with very little presence in this ranking, they are not inclined to pay an additional ten euros for the few exclusive content offered by the studio with big ears or its competitors.

For movies, Warner Bros. is widely represented in this top 10 with no less than five titles including Godzilla vs. Kong at the top of the list, Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad
, Zack Snyder’s Justice League
and mortal kombat. Disney is also present with four titles (Black Widow
, Jungle Cruise, Raya and the Last Dragon and cruella) and Fast & Furious 9 complete the ranking.

The presence of these many titles obviously comes from the new studio policy applied in 2021, which allowed consumers to view the latest films on a streaming platform the same day of their theatrical release, when the latter was not completely cancelled. Also, films released in cinemas are published 45 days later on the platforms, which reduces the wait for the consumer, in addition to destabilizing the video market, which is shrinking from year to year.

Excellent quality copies, up to 4K, are available in the first hours after the launch and this explains why a significant part of the spectators does not want to spend an extra euro to enjoy the latest innovations.

Source: Akamai