Piracy: it's not just something that we see in flashy Disney movies. As a matter of fact, film piracy has become one of the industry's most talked about issues in recent years, and advances in digital technology (particularly social media) have only made pirates savvier over time. Having said that, not everyone makes a clean getaway in the end. In fact, it now seems that a California man who allegedly pirated last year's Deadpool has apparently been caught.
If you didn't get arrested yesterday, then you likely had a better Tuesday than Trevon Maurice Franklin. The 21-year-old currently finds himself in federal custody, and he is being charged with copyright infringement for pirating Deadpool during the film's initial release. More specifically, Franklin allegedly uploaded a copy of The Merc with the Mouth's solo movie to Facebook, which was subsequently viewed over five million times on the social media platform only eight days after the film's release date. Additionally, he is also accused of reproducing at least ten copies of the superhero flick, with an estimated retail value of $2,500.
These crimes carry some severe penalties that are nothing to scoff at. According to a report from Deadline, if convicted of these charges, Franklin could face up to three years in federal prison thanks to the felony charges. Deadpool currently holds the title for 2016's most pirated film, so it makes quite a bit of sense that authorities and industry insiders have taken this particular matter incredibly seriously.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, we should note that this particular instance of alleged piracy did not scuttle Deadpool's theatrical release. The film became a bonafide sensation after its February 12, 2016 release date, and it subsequently went on to achieve a lifetime worldwide box office gross of $783 million. These numbers are even more impressive when we consider the film's shoestring--at least for a superhero movie--$58 million production budget. While any form of piracy will ultimately eat into a movie's bottom line, it is clear that Tim Miller, Ryan Reynolds, and 20th Century Fox still did pretty well for themselves in the long run.
The success of Deadpool means that this issue of piracy likely won't go away anytime soon. Blockbuster franchises have become some of the most commonly pirated and bootlegged projects in the industry, and there's already another major Deadpool movie on the way. With Josh Brolin joining the upcoming sequel as Cable, and John Wick mastermind David Leitch stepping behind the camera as its director, there is going to be quite a bit of fanfare associated with the upcoming project, which means people will try to see it early, or not pay at all. Pirates beware; the Feds will be out in full force when it finally debuts.
CinemaBlend will keep you updated with any and all relevant Deadpool details as new information is made available to us. Deadpool 2 is currently slated to debut in theaters next summer on June 1, 2018. Here is everything that we currently know about Wade Wilson's upcoming X-Men spinoff!
