Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2011, days after Torrente 4 opened in Spanish cinemas; the debate over the Sinde Law and the references to the Minister of Culture describe the situation at that time.
A few months ago, according to a statistical study, it was claimed that piracy exists, which is obvious, but that the product it affects least is Spanish cinema, because Spanish films were the least downloaded on the internet. That raised a question: in Spain, and in the Spanish film business, perhaps poor attendance and the low profitability of Spanish films are due not to piracy but to the product itself.
I’m not going to get into whether Spanish cinema is better than, as good as or worse than what we usually watch, but one thing is clear: Torrente 4 has been the Spanish release with the highest attendance in the entire history of Spanish cinema, and the third including films of every nationality, taking more than 8 million euros on its opening night.
With these figures in hand, we ask the question again: “Who does piracy actually hurt, and who does the Sinde Law protect?” (the Sinde Law is Spain’s anti-piracy legislation, named after the Culture Minister, Ángeles González-Sinde).
Perhaps, even if films could no longer be downloaded from the internet, certain films would still play to empty cinemas.
Perhaps what Spanish film-makers need is good promotion for their films, Santiago Segura style.
What has become clear is this: if piracy hasn’t hurt Santiago Segura, even though he is against the Sinde Law, why does it hurt others?
Why does the same kind of business work for some people and not for others? Before passing a law when it isn’t very clear who it benefits and who it harms (although we have a fairly good idea), wouldn’t it make sense for the people who are supposedly defending culture to study cases like this one?
If this were a boxing match, with Torrente 4 in one corner of the ring and the Sinde Law in the other, Santiago Segura has knocked out the Minister of Culture. So my warmest congratulations, Santiago.
Featured image: Rincón Friki, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
.jpg){kind=link}