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After record domestic ticket sales in 2007, and record overseas ticket sales in 2008, news that domestic ticket sales are up more than 17% so far this year makes the MPAA's fear of illegal file-sharing look sillier than ever. For the last 4 years box office ticket sales have been surging at a rapid clip and yet still the MPAA says more must be done to fight piracy and illegal file-sharing. After enjoying record profits of some $9.6 billion USD in 2007, with predictions for it to match or surpass that figure in 2008 based on record overseas profits, it's now being reported that domestic ticket sales are up some 17.5% so far this year. Attendance is up an astonishing 16% as Americans perhaps seeker cheaper entertainment alternatives amidst the economic downturn. If the pace continues it will give the MPAA their biggest ticket sale growth in at least two decades. Think about that for a second. The MPAA twists the arm of any congressman or foreign official it can get its hands on and tries to convince them that without action to fight piracy or illegal file-sharing the industry will go belly up and hard working actors and actresses will be forced into Hollywood soup lines. So why the dramatic increase in ticket sales? Its the economy stupid. “It’s not rocket science,”said Martin Kaplan, the director of the Norman Lear Center for the study of entertainment and society at the University of Southern California. “People want to forget their troubles, and they want to be with other people.” With mega blockbusters on the way this year like "Watchmen," "Terminator: Salvation," "X-Men Origins:Wolverine," and "Star Trek XI," is there anybody on the planet who wouldn't bet the MPAA takes in money hand over fist? The MPAA suffers from the same delusion that the RIAA does, that a single illegal download equates to a lost sale. After 4 years of rising ticket sales and the latest on track to be their biggest year ever, isn't it time the elected officials it so heavily lobbies finally realize that increased piracy controls are unnecessary?
