'We are encouraged by the support of fansites condemning this illegal posting and pointing out that such theft undermines the enormous efforts of the filmmakers and actors, and above all, hurts the fans of the film,' Fox said. The studio said an electronic watermark would help investigators trace the film's leaker. The version that made its way around the internet was missing special effects and several scenes, and included what Fox called 'temporary sound and music'. According to the Motion Picture Association of America, internet piracy cost the global film industry more than $18bn in 2005, the most recent year for which statistics are available.įox has tried to discourage fans from viewing the movie by disparaging the quality of the pirate release – describing it in a statement as 'incomplete and early' – and by threatening to prosecute websites that posted it. The studio has a lot at stake: It reportedly spent more than $100m (£68m) on the film, and the previous three X-Men releases grossed more than $1bn worldwide. It is scheduled to open in the UK on 29 April. It portrays the violent past of the mutant comic book superhero with retractable claws and his quest for revenge against a villain (Sabretooth, played by Liev Schreiber) whom he blames for the death of his girlfriend. Wolverine stars Australian actor Hugh Jackman in the title role.

The film by South African director Gavin Hood has been seen by untold thousands across the world since it appeared online late on Tuesday, while Fox scrambled to shut down the websites that offered the download. It likely originated within the studio or a third-party production house contracted to work on the film. The company, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, was working this week with FBI and industry investigators to determine the source of the leak of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The FBI and US film studio Twentieth Century Fox are investigating what is believed to be one of the biggest internet film piracy cases to date after a rough, incomplete edit of the latest instalment of the studio's X-Men franchise leaked online a month before its scheduled world premiere.

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