What Were The Most Pirated Movies Of 2016?

By now, you probably have a pretty good idea of which films critics loved most in 2016, and an objectively accurate idea of which films did best at the box office in 2016. And it shouldn't be much longer before we get a sense of how all the awards races are shaping up. So how about the folks who kind of like watching movies, but not enough to actually pay for them? Which films topped the illegal downloading charts in 2016? Find out the most pirated movies of 2016 below. 

According to Torrent Freak, here are the most-pirated movies of 2016:

With the caveat that we at /Film absolutely do not condone pirating movies, it does seem kind of appropriate that the most-pirated movie of 2016 would be one about an irreverent anti-hero who delights in breaking all the rules. But in truth, Deadpool's position on top of this list probably has less to do with his personality than the fact that it was a mainstream superhero movie that came out in February.

Five of the six major superhero movies from 2016 are on this list. The only exception is Doctor Strange, likely because it was released too late in the year to rack up big enough numbers in time to make this list. The rankings tend to "favor" titles that opened earlier in the year, to the point that two late 2015 releases (Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Revenant) are on this list. Suicide Squad is the most recent movie out of the top 10, and that opened all the way back in August.

For the most part, downloaders' taste in movies doesn't seem to be all that different from those of paying audiences. In that light, Independence Day: Resurgence's presence on this list seems a little surprising considering it didn't make that much money. Maybe it's the kind of film that pirates were curious about but didn't want to pay for after seeing the reviews. On the flip side, animated films seem to be relatively unpopular with file-sharers. Secret Life of Pets and Zootopia both did huge business at the box office this year, and got solid reviews to boot, but only Finding Dory managed to crack the top 10.