A funny thing happened on the way to the illegal movie download—box office success. Michael's Moore's healthcare documentary "Sicko" has been confirmed as the third highest grossing documentary in film history. Just a couple of months ago we recounted Moore's somewhat controversial statements regarding online movie piracy. Moore said, "I don’t agree with the copyright laws and I don’t have a problem with people downloading the movie and sharing it with people as long as they’re not trying to make a profit off my labour."
After that statement was refreshed in the public mind, illegally downloading "Sicko" became so popular even celebrities began to show up on television shows bragging about downloading the film. Nevertheless, the box office win essentially proves Moore's faith in film fans to be well-placed and flies in the face of piracy fears from groups like the MPAA. It also offers an interesting real-world proof-of-concept that may point to a future film distribution model (i.e. simultaneous theatrical screenings married with free online downloads).
