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Pirated Movies 2011: ‘Fast Five,’ ‘The Hangover Part II’

Looking to internet piracy as any kind of indication of movie quality will not get you far — it’s kind of like asking what’s the most elegant boxed wine — but 2011 was a melting pot of tastes and preferences and this, apparently, extends to illegal movie downloading, too. There’s a movie about cars, a buddy comedy with a chain-smoking monkey and a hammer-wielding action flick from a director known for his Shakespeare.

Leading the way — speeding out front, if you will — was ‘Fast Five,’ the fifth installment of the ‘Fast and the Furious’ franchise. The Vin Diesel-led action spectacle — appropriately about stealing — was illegally downloaded 9.3 million times. Following close behind were ‘The Hangover Part II’ and ‘Thor,’ the former of which was also appropriately on this list. After all, so much of its plot was stolen from part one. (Tip your waitress, folks!)

James Franco’s rock-climbing-disaster film ‘127 Hours’ nabbed a surprise spot at number seven. No doubt his performance at last year’s Oscars had something to do with it (or maybe his 20 minute recorded reading of Amie Barrodale’s story “William Wei,” for the uber-intelligent).

But the most surprising? 2011’s Best Picture ‘The King’s Speech,’ which made over $ 414 million worldwide.

Take a look at the others who made the cut.

1. ‘Fast Five’ (Universal): $ 9.3 million

2. ‘The Hangover Part II’ (Warner Bros. / Legendary): $ 8.8 million

3. ‘Thor’ (Marvel/Paramount): $ 8.3 million

4. ‘Source Code’ (Summit / Vendome): $ 7.9 million

5. ‘I Am Number Four’ (DreamWorks / Disney): $ 7.7 million

6. ‘Sucker Punch’ (Warner Bros. / Legendary): $ 7.2 million

7. ‘127 Hours’ (Fox Searchlight): $ 6.9 million

8. ‘Rango’ (Paramount): $ 6.5 million

9. ‘The King’s Speech’ (Weinstein Co.): $ 6.3 million

10. ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2’ (Warner Bros.): $ 6 million