Pirates out in force capitalizing on 'Sith'

BEIJING — Counterfeiters were selling illegal DVD copies of the latest "Star Wars" movie on Beijing's streets Sunday, just three days after it opened in Chinese cinemas.

The copies of "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," priced at $2.40, were being offered by vendors from shoulder bags on Beijing's main avenue.

Back in America, moviegoers turned out in full force for the final chapter of the saga, which took in $158.5 million since its opening to shatter three-day and four-day box office records.

The pirated Chinese copies were slightly blurry but appeared not to have been filmed in a cinema, as are many of China's imported fakes.

Viewers using the English subtitles were likely to be confused since they were from the 2003 action movie "Detention," starring Dolph Lundgren, and didn't match the on-screen action. The Chinese subtitles, however, were accurate.

The sales were taking place despite repeated Chinese promises to stamp out a thriving industry in copied goods that foreign companies say costs them billions of dollars a year in lost potential sales.

"Revenge of the Sith" opened Thursday on Chinese screens in a rare simultaneous opening with cinemas abroad.

Distributors hope that such worldwide premieres will defeat pirates by giving audiences in China and other countries a chance to see films before illegal copies can be made.

Studios complain that China has created a market for pirated movies by blocking or delaying releases of many films in an effort to protect state-owned studios.

Pirated movies sold in China are made from videotapes shot in cinemas abroad, or from preview copies given out to film distributors and others in the industry.

China says it is trying to prevent piracy, with about 9,000 cases brought to court in 2004.

U.S. studio estimates released Sunday show the film grossed $124.7 million from Thursday to Saturday. That's higher than the three-day record set by the first "Spider-Man," which took in $114.8 million in May 2002 — though "Star Wars" had a lower Friday-Sunday take ($108.5 million) than the Tobey Maguire film.

Utah's Megaplex 17 Theatres at Jordan Commons ranked first in the nation for total attendance for Thursday's debut and fourth in gross box-office sales.