14 DAY TRIAL // Exactly two weeks ago, 20th Century Fox’s big summer action movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was leaked online. Having an early copy of the film uploaded on the Internet, and downloaded and watched by thousands of eager fans was considered at the time a crisis no other production of this magnitude had ever had to face. Now, figures show that the exact opposite may be the case, as EW can confirm.
Estimates indicate that the workprint of the film that leaked online was downloaded an estimated 1,000,000 times, which would mean, according to several sources, that almost 2,000,000 people watched it. This figure in itself would be the equivalent of $15-20 million in ticket sales, which would be extremely detrimental to Fox. However, EW says, the reality is different, since even those who saw the unfinished version are still eager to pay the price to see it in cinemas as well. This, in turn, would mean that the leak was the best kind of publicity money could ever buy, if one was to draw the line.
“Execs at Twentieth Century Fox, who were facing the potentially lethal leak of a copy of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ two weeks ago, may now have reason to relax – and actually be excited – for the film’s May 1 opening. A tracking report containing consumer research statistics shows a high ‘wanna see’ rating for the film, which is said to be the No. 1 choice for young men and guys aged 31 and older. Those two demographics are key to boosting the first-weekend numbers for a male-targeted superhero franchise film like Wolverine.” the aforementioned publication writes. The movie studio has made no comment yet on the current situation.
Of course, this does not change the fact that someone from inside the studio took the unfinished copy of the film and uploaded it on the Internet. While in Sydney to preview 20 complete minutes of the film, main star Hugh Jackman also stressed this aspect, saying that he was “heartbroken” over the leak, but still hoping that fans would not be deterred from seeing it on the silver screen as well. As it turns out, he had no reason to doubt fans’ loyalty.
“It’s a serious crime and there’s no doubt it’s very disappointing – I was heartbroken by it. Obviously people are seeing an unfinished film. It’s like a Ferrari without a paint job.” Jackman said of the leak a couple of days ago.