Word of Mouth Vs. Risk of Piracy

Disney has been screening the hell out of its upcoming animated Pixar film Ratatouille, which usually means that they're confident that their movie has the goods to build positive word of mouth. But the downside to more that 800 "sneak preview" screenings is the risk of piracy. Hostel II director Eli Roth recently blamed the soft box office of his film on the fact that pirated copies were available before it was released. Michael Moore's documentary Sicko (which fellow Portfolio blogger Matt Cooper talks about today) was also leaked on the web. Even a teacher in Peekskill, New York, was recently caught showing a bootleg copy of Shrek the Third to a fifth-grade class. And now an illegal copy of Ratatouille have been found online as well, the WJS reports, suggesting that the studios are still struggling to figure out ways to both promote and protect their films. Per the WSJ:

While not unprecedented, the availability of these movies online may suggest that the studios are still losing some significant battles in their war on piracy. After a surge in piracy a few years ago, including leaks of movies like "Hulk" weeks before its theatrical release in 2003, the studios seemed to successfully crack down, setting up metal detectors at prerelease screenings, cutting back on screener DVDs, and instituting tough security procedures at production labs.

[Photo Credit: Disney/Pixar's Ratatouille]