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Hollywood lost $6.1 bn to piracy in 2005: study
MUMBAI: Major Hollywood studios lost a whopping $6.1 billion in global wholesale revenue to piracy last year, a study put out Wednesday by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) shows.
The haemorrage is coming not only from lost ticket sales, but from DVD sales that have been Hollywood’s money-spinner in recent years, the study reveals.
Of the $6.1 billion in lost revenue to the studios, $1.3 billion came from piracy in the United States and $4.8 billion internationally, with nearly half of that loss occurring in Europe. About $2.4 billion was lost to bootlegging, $1.4 to illegal
copying and $2.3 billion to Internet piracy.
In the US, illegal copying and distribution is more of a problem while internationally, illegal downloading and bootlegging is more prevalent.
The countries where movie piracy is occurring most prominently are China, Russia, UK, France, Spain, Brazil, Italy, Poland and Mexico.
The average film copyright thief is male, between the ages of 16-24 and lives in an urban area. College students in the US, Korea and Hungary contribute the most to each country’s individual loss. The 16-24 age range represents a disproportionately high percentage of pirates, especially downloaders, across the 22 directly researched countries. It is even higher in the US, where the same age range represents 71 per cent of downloaders.
“The findings in this study reinforce the need for a multi-pronged approach to fighting piracy,” said said MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman. “As an industry, we have to continue to
educate people about copyright laws and the consequences of breaking those laws. At the same time, we have to provide legitimate, hassle-free ways for consumers to obtain movies at a reasonable cost. In the meantime we will continue to work with governments and law enforcement around the world to ensure copyright law is prevalent and enforced.”
The MPAA recently provided international data from the study to the Office of the US Trade Representative for use in preparing its annual report on worldwide intellectual property rights.
MPAA had commissioned LEK Consulting LLC two years ago for this study. The study was conducted over a period of 18 months across 28 countries to estimate how much piracy is costing them.
Unlike its previous studies, this study takes in consumer research by telephone, Internet surveys, focus groups, more consistent surveying methods and even Internet downloading to obtain more accurate estimates.
The report states that previously the MPAA used figures based on a series of random calculations that estimated how much was lost in each country. This drastic increase is more likely the result of better measuring this time, since the piracy level for some countries was often based on random calculations in previous studies. The US currently leads with about $1.311 billion lost to piracy.
Of the $1.311 billion in US piracy, this figure breaks down to $447 million due to illegal downloading of movies, $335 million as a result of professional bootleggers and $529 million from home piracy where consumers make copies of legitimate DVD and VHS media they purchased. This survey specifically asked consumers how many of their pirated movies they would have purchased in stores or seen in theaters if they didn’t have an unauthorized copy, giving studios a different picture of their true losses.
The new approach reduces the estimated losses in some of the world’s most notorious pirate markets, even as it adds Internet-related losses for the first time. Despite all the hype about piracy in China, Russia and several other of the world’s most notorious pirate markets, Mexico actually turns out the 2nd worst with $483 million lost to piracy; over a 3-fold increase of $140 million in its 2004 study, which used old methods of surveying.
China’s losses slipped to an estimated $244 million in 2005, from $280 million in 2004 under the old counting technique. Russia’s estimate declined by about $10 million.
The study also shows that home video, not theatrical distribution, is the market that piracy hits hardest, accounting for two-thirds of the studio’s lost revenue. That is a big blow to the studios, which had been counting on the lucrative DVD market to increase their bottom lines, but in recent months have found DVD sales are slowing considerably.
Piracy is not all a kids’ activity though. In Japan, one of Hollywood’s biggest foreign markets, 50 per cent of the overall industry’s losses are the result of piracy by people ages 25 to 39. While piracy has not affected the stock prices of the big conglomerates that own studios, that could change if investors feared DVDs would no longer generate sales at the pace they expected.
While new data are potentially helpful in negotiating with foreign governments because they also estimate losses to local film industries, the information is also bad news for the MPAA’s antipiracy efforts. Those have ranged from public-awareness campaigns to beefing up laws to raids of illegal DVD plants.
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Induction cooktop demand spikes 30× amid LPG supply concerns
Supply worries linked to West Asia tensions push households and restaurants to turn to electric cooking alternatives
MUMBAI: As geopolitical tensions in West Asia ripple through global energy supply chains, the familiar blue flame in Indian kitchens is facing an unexpected challenger: electricity.
What began as concerns over the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) has quickly evolved into a technology-driven shift in cooking habits. Households across India are increasingly turning to induction cooktops and other electric appliances, initially as a backup but now, for many, a necessity.
A sudden surge in demand
Recent data from quick-commerce and grocery platform BigBasket highlights the scale of the shift. According to Seshu Kumar Tirumala, the company’s chief buying and merchandising officer, demand for induction cooktops has risen dramatically.
“Induction cooktops have seen a significant surge in demand, recording a fivefold jump on 10 March and a thirtyfold spike on 11 March,” Tirumala said.
The increase stands out sharply when compared with broader kitchen appliance trends. Most appliance categories are growing within 10 per cent of their typical demand levels, while induction cooktops have witnessed explosive growth as households rush to secure an alternative cooking option.
Major e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart have reported rising searches and orders for induction stoves. Quick-commerce apps such as Blinkit and Zepto have also witnessed stock shortages in major metropolitan areas including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
What was once considered a convenient appliance for hostels, small kitchens or occasional use has suddenly become an essential addition in many homes.
A crisis thousands of miles away
The trigger for this shift lies far beyond India’s kitchens.
Escalating conflict in the Middle East has disrupted shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy corridors. Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of India’s LPG imports pass through this narrow waterway, making the country particularly vulnerable to supply disruptions.
The ripple effects have been swift.
India currently meets roughly 60 per cent of its LPG demand through imports, and tightening global supply has already begun to affect domestic availability and prices.
Earlier this month, the price of domestic LPG cylinders increased by Rs 60, while commercial cylinders rose by more than Rs 114.
To discourage panic buying and hoarding, the government has also extended the mandatory waiting period between domestic refill bookings from 21 days to 25 days.
Restaurants feel the pressure
The strain is not limited to households. Restaurants, hotels and roadside eateries are also grappling with supply constraints as commercial LPG availability tightens under restrictions imposed through the Essential Commodities Act.
In cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai, restaurant associations report that commercial LPG availability has dropped by as much as 75 per cent, forcing many establishments to rethink their kitchen operations.
Some restaurants have reduced menu offerings, while others are rapidly installing high-efficiency induction systems, creating hybrid kitchens where electricity now shares the workload with gas.
For smaller eateries and roadside dhabas, the shift is less about sustainability and more about survival.
A potential structural shift
The government has maintained that there is no nationwide LPG crisis and has directed refineries to increase production to stabilise supply.
Nevertheless, the developments of March 2026 may already be triggering a longer-term behavioural shift.
For decades, LPG has been the backbone of cooking in Indian households. However, recent disruptions have highlighted the risks of relying on a single fuel source.
Increasingly, households appear to be hedging against uncertainty by adopting electric cooking options to guard against price volatility and delivery delays.
If the current trend continues, the induction cooktop, once viewed as a niche appliance, could emerge as a quiet symbol of India’s evolving kitchen economy.
