In a world where it often feels like you need half a dozen streaming subscriptions just to watch a single movie, it’s no surprise that movie piracy — defined as the illegal copying and distribution of films — has surged.
These platforms are everywhere, largely unregulated, and increasingly normalized. While many dismiss piracy as a harmless shortcut, its popularity reflects something deeper: a cultural and economic tension over access, fairness, and the value of entertainment itself.
The increase in paucity can be largely attributed to streaming fatigue and frustration over the rising prices of streaming. This is ironic due to the fact that early streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu were inundated under the means of affordable, convenient access to thousands of films.
However, as every major studio launched its own exclusive service, such as Disney+, HBO Max, and Peacock, the overall intentions of streaming got lost, as media became more expensive and harder to access. For many consumers, the result is that piracy felt like the only viable option.
This point is amplified while looking at the wider economic decline. As wages have become somewhat stagnant and the price of living has risen, paying $15 a month for Netflix, $10 for Disney+, $16 for HBO Max, and $8 for Peacock quickly becomes impossible. Approximately 75% of individuals who pirate content stated they would use streaming services if they were more affordable, according to Cordcutting.
Due to economic challenges associated with streaming services, global visits to piracy websites reached approximately 216 billion in 2024, up from 130 billion in 2020.
This surge highlights a complex relationship between economic factors and piracy rates, suggesting that as national GDP rises, piracy may decrease, potentially due to improved access to legal content and increased affordability, according to a study by UC Berkeley economics student Daren Zhang .
It’s easy to look at this as just a simple case of people wanting to consume media for free, and with the poor economy, it make sense why we have this desire.
However, in reality, this widespread turn toward piracy has reshaped attitudes about the practice itself, sparking conversation regarding the role and importance of media.
Perceptions of piracy are broken into two schools of thought. The first one is that illegally downloading films is directly comparable to theft, while a movie is understood as a product to be bought and sold.
However, many see not as theft, but as reclaiming access to something that already belongs to the public — a recognition that art and entertainment are cultural resources, not objects to be hoarded by corporations.
Piracy is more than a technological or legal issue — it is a rational response to a system that fragments access, prioritizes profit over participation, and restricts culture behind paywalls. It challenges corporate monopolies, regulatory overreach, and the commodification of creativity, echoing broader societal critiques of inequality and concentrated wealth.
The lesson for studios and streaming services is clear: audiences respond more to accessibility and affordability than anti-piracy laws. When people pirate, it isn’t because they enjoy breaking rules — it’s because they feel that media is actively being withheld from them.
The resurgence of piracy is both a digital survival strategy and a cultural symptom. It signals a profound shift: audiences are no longer passive consumers. They expect fair access, participation, and the ability to engage with art as a shared human experience.
