Last year? I downloaded a pirated copy of the movie Ink. I wasn't ever going to go to the cinema nor was(and won't) I going to buy it on DVD. I did however buy 2 copies totally about $30 IIRC from the creator directly. This is just one case from one person. Many people who pirate movies also buy the ones they think are worth their money. The think most people like you don't realise is that most of the people who don't pay for any of it in any form wasn't going to do so even if it wasn't available for free. And I too can just blanket everything under a misguided and biased argument; No it's actually more expensive to shoplift because if you were walked out with enough you'd very very likely get caught and you're likely to face some legall challenges not to metion the fact that many people won't hire you unless they have to. That doesn't even take into account the other point you so conveniently misse: it's harder. That point is actually more important than the cost as shown in my case of buying Ink for $30 which is at least 3 times more than it would have cost me to go to the cinema.