'Project X' Is The Most Pirated Movie Of 2012

While “The Avengers” ruled the box office this year, the film did not top the most-pirated list of 2012. That honor goes to the rather small in scope “Project X,” a movie about teenagers throwing a wild party.

TorrentFreak made that call, based on the number of BitTorrent downloads. “Project X” was a surprise hit at the box office, grossing $100 million worldwide, with a reported budget of $12 million, according to IMDB. That's a pretty impressive haul, and despite the mixed reviews the film garnered, “Project X” was a success for Warner Bros. Still, it was a bit startling to see “Project X” top the list of most-pirated 2012 movies.

Despite all the eagerly anticipated, and hugely successful, films released in 2012, “Project X” was the No. 1 movie to pirate, with more than 9 million BitTorrent downloads, TorrentFreak reported. The list of most-pirated movies of the year is an interesting one to look at because, while it mirrors the box office list to a degree, there is plenty of differences between the two lists, with “Project X” being the most obvious example.

“The Avengers” earned more than $1.5 billion worldwide and over $600 million domestically, easily earning recognition as the highest-grossing movie of 2012. Following “The Avengers,” “The Dark Night Rises,” “The Hunger Games,” “Skyfall” and “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2” rounded out the top five, according to Box Office Mojo.

Among the most-pirated films of 2012, a movie that was released in 2011 came in at No. 2. “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” was the second most-pirated movie of this year, with an estimated 8.5 million BitTorrent downloads. “The Dark Night Rises,” at No. 3, was downloaded an estimated 8.3 million times, while “The Avengers” was downloaded an estimated 8.1 million times, TorrentFreak noted. Another movie released in 2011, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” was the fifth most-pirated movie of 2012.

“21 Jump Street,” another successful comedy hit, came in at No. 6. While “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” was a modest success in 2011, it was still popular a year after its release with pirates, as it was downloaded and shared a reported 7.4 million times and landing as the seventh most-pirated movie. “The Dictator” (7.3 million) and “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (6.9 million) came in at Nos. 8 and 9, respectively, on the list of most-pirated movies of 2012.

Box-office hits “The Hunger Games,” “Skyfall,” “The Amazing Spider Man,” “Brave,” “Ted,” “Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted,” “Taken 2,” “Men In Black 3,” and “Dr. Suess' The Lorax” did not crack the top 10 most-pirated films of 2012.

Although “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2” did not make the list of most-pirated films of 2012, its predecessor, 2011's “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1” did, coming in as the 10th most-pirated movie of 2012.

It's interesting to see the disparity between the two lists. While plenty of films made more than $200 million domestically, only two of the top-grossing movies of 2012 -- “The Avengers” and “The Dark Night Rises” -- made the list of most-pirated movies of the year.