Apr 14, 2009 by The MovieWeb Team

Did the Leak of X-Men Origins: Wolverine Hurt the Film's Hype?

It seems that the illegally leaked and frequently downloaded X-Men Origins: Wolverine isn't suffering too much from the leak. Entertainment Weekly has tracked consumer research to show that even despite the film's leak to the internet, the film still has a high "wanna see" rating, and is currently the number one choice for young men and males aged 31 and older.

This marks a bit of a turnaround for a film that was considered to be in serious danger when a full-length (though unfinished) copy of the film was illegally loaded onto the Internet and downloaded by somewhere between 100,000 and 1,000,000 users. The initial fear was that the leak would lead to lost ticket sales, and potentially bad hype for the film, if either the storyline or acting were not what fans of the X-Men films and comics were hoping for. This fear was compounded by the fact that the special effects in the download are incomplete, and in a film like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the special effects are clearly a large part of what will make or break the movie.

Those fears now seem to be a thing of the past, and some are speculating that the leak might actually turn out to be a positive thing for the film, as it has generated a significant deal of free publicity. One executive from a competing studio has even said that, while it's impossible to currently predict what the opening weekend numbers for X-Men Origins: Wolverine will be, they're sure to be huge. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine is in fabulous shape," says the source. "They could open today."

Leading up to the events of X-Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe. The movie stars Hugh Jackman, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan, and Daniel Henney.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine hits theaters May 1st, 2009.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released May 1st, 2009 and stars Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will i Am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch. The film is directed by Gavin Hood.


Sources: Entertainment Weekly

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Comments (49)

  1. ed_wood

    I'll see it in the theater.

    3 years agoby @ed-woodFlag

  2. Clockworkcookie

    Obviously I don't even consider watching this leak, let alone give any credit to those who judge the movie by it, so I'm still very excited to watch the real deal.

    3 years agoby @clockworkcookieFlag

  3. Shelley

    You should go to see it and judge for yourself. Everyone has their own opinion and you may enjoy it. I for one know for a fact I am going to love it.

    3 years agoby @shelleyFlag

  4. nathan_lease

    All this talk about how they screwed up the characters makes me not want to go and see it now. It's just like how Bryan Singer screwed up on Xmen and X2. Then you have Brett Ratner who really jacked it up. Why does Fox do that sh*t?

    3 years agoby @nathan-leaseFlag

  5. The Narrator: The Better Man

    Oh, well he is Merry in LOTR and in Lost is the character Charlie.

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  6. J.A.Ottley.Writer / Director

    I know but Deadpool is Weapon XI, that's what majorily pissed me off about the film.
    I can't even fathom a logical explanation for Deadpool to have his own spin-off film now, henceforth why the film really f*cked me off. Because i was so amped that Deadpool was in this and thought to myself...YES. this is going to be the film that boosts Deadpool's popularity so much that producers will want a spin-off, plus i knew that David Goyer was still writing his spin-off script for Deadpool but he was just waiting for the release of this film, so Deadpool becomes more known.

    I don't know whom that guy is playing, i've never heard of him, he may have starred ina film i've seen before but when i searched it on IMDB it said his starring rle was Beak

    3 years agoby @chronicFlag

  7. Marcus-07

    What about f*cking Beak are U all talking about??? Beak has a beak and feathers....That is one other f*ggy character!

    3 years agoby @marcus-07Flag

  8. The Narrator: The Better Man

    Well, they are already doing a sequel to this, with the "Slumbdog Millionaire" witer. Sounds weird to me.

    And Comrade and J.A. which is it? Robot, or Beak? I know he was supposed to be Beak when they announced it.

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  9. Marko85

    wolverine is great materiel and comic book fans along with movie fans deserve nothing less than a great movie....with talented director, really charming and talented Hugh Jackman, wolverine easily could be a successful successor to a new era of seriously and dramatic great comic book adaption such as The Dark knight...but screenplay writers and producers sacrifice great potential due to profit expectation...hopefully a second installment will be much better....

    3 years agoby @marko85Flag

  10. Marcus-07

    Ok...I saw that f*cking unfinished piece of crap...and I got to say that I'm disapointed...I saw the trailer and I went:"Wooow! This is going to rock!" But trailer is everything you need to see from this movie...I didn't like the story and I didn't like Gambit (haha...the whole fighting scene of him U can see in trailer) and Deadpool(O my God...Deadpool is dead pool! Where's the f*cking mask?) Bad ending....But I will still go see it with my pals at the cinema!...haha...Don't know about that...

    3 years agoby @marcus-07Flag

  11. Marko85

    I`ve seen the unfinished version of a movie, and it is just OK, nothing more, the plot is really enc*mber with a many characters, and almost all don't have just right time or dialog to become relevant, interesting and memorable part of a movie. I`m definitely will see it on big screen and I'm looking forward to that...

    3 years agoby @marko85Flag

  12. Drewski37

    i thought sabertooth was susposed to be wolverines father in the books, ryan renolds was a great pick for deadpool, but you can tell where fox proberly came in and said " WE dont like this do, WE have an idea DO THIS OUR WAY..." ruining it like always!

    3 years agoby @drewski37Flag

  13. nathan_lease

    Why would they turn deadpool into weapon XI? How are they suppose to make a spin off of him then? They were two different actors in the movie.

    3 years agoby @nathan-leaseFlag

  14. -comrade-

    He's not Beak. He's some other f*cker named "Bradley" with electrical powers.

    3 years agoby @taberjohnson18Flag

  15. J.A.Ottley.Writer / Director

    At least Star Trek didn't f*ck up the characters, it made them a ton load better and more interesting.

    And also, for the people that ain't dumb enough to figure out the market tactic that, Fox President was blabbing on about a few days ago. This is the full length finished version, the only thing in this movie that is unfinished is CGI.
    Because a movie wouldn't be shipped to the SFX room for complete sceneary SFX unless it was finished, and this one had in screen SFX on it. It didn't have complete SFX.
    This was a finished version, Fox president is just saying that, because he knows the leak has badly hurt the film from a profitable aspect, and he is trying to bundle a lie together saying that there is 10mins missing.
    Well my one looked complete, felt complete, and was complete because it was 103minutes which is the official runtime for this film, according to every source i've checked.

    The leak was complete, just that they need to grab more profit, so easy just lie to the public, they'll never know that once a film has finished editorial stage it goes into the SFX enigneering room for the SFX's to be added on and then straight to the MPAA & BBFC.

    Also Dominic Monaghan is Beak.

    3 years agoby @chronicFlag

  16. The Narrator: The Better Man

    How does ST look like sh*t?

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  17. Editboy

    No one is ever going to stop all those f*cks out there who download movies like this. That's the sad part. If at the midnight show I hear any fanboys talking about how they saw it online in advance, I'll have no problem whatsoever telling them that they F*CKED IN THE ASS the very thing we all hold so sacred!!!

    On the bright side, I am so pumped for this movie!!!!!!!!! From all accounts, it sounds like "Wolverine" is going to be much better than "X3". CAN'T WAIT!!!

    Wish someone would post the new 'Star Trek" movie online so that it losses a ton of money and everyone can see that it's a piece of sh*t. Now that would make me happy!

    3 years agoby @editboyFlag

  18. -comrade-

    Enjoy your lost sleep and wasted money SMRTALEC.
    Deadpool was such a huge f*ck up (BTW, how does he store 2.5 foot blades in his forearms?)
    And Gambit was so badly shortchanged that the only way to rectify the error would be to include him in the second prequel in a main supporting role.
    FOX should have their rights to the X-Men taken away. Unfortunately, so long as they can manage one mythos-raping sh*tfest with lots of explosions and too many characters once every five years, they've got it locked.

    3 years agoby @taberjohnson18Flag

  19. Garret

    I think seeing the movie like this makes you want to see the finished version, I mean there are still scenes missing people key scenes, this copy was from a few months back. SO I will be first in line and even though it wasn't finished I really enjoyed the movie and so did my friend and where both long time fans

    3 years agoby @garretbyrneFlag

  20. SMRTALEC

    screw the leak! ill still be there on may 1 for the midnight showing

    3 years agoby @smrtalecFlag

  21. The Narrator: The Better Man

    Btw, what Dominic Monaghan's role?

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  22. The Narrator: The Better Man

    J.A. Thanks very much man. You just saved me from watching this movie. I'll still see it, but not awaiting it that much now. Damn, f*ck Fox.

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  23. DaleJr88AmpFan

    I don't care what people say about it..I'm a LONG time fan of the X-Men films, comic books and the animated series that I used to watch with my kids when they were young. I will go see this film in the theater and spend my money and enjoy it. I personally think ALL the films so far have been very good. A film is supposed to entertain you and I know that I will NOT be disappointed. I don't listen to what critics have to say anyways because that is what they are paid to do, get under people's skin and cause a "reaction" to what they say about a film.

    just my two cents...besides, the name of the film should give away what the story line is going to be about...the origin of Wolverine...

    3 years agoby @dalejr88ampfanFlag

  24. wizdome

    People are still gonna see it!

    3 years agoby @wizdomeFlag

  25. Shadow Of The Day

    No, this movie going to be awesome.

    3 years agoby @asifFlag

  26. SWAK1774

    I completely agree with the person below me. Reynolds was perfect for the role and didn't even get the screen time his character deserved.

    I was able to get a bootleg copy of the movie. My kids and I enjoyed it even though it was unedited and incomplete. It just made us want to see it in the theater even more. It also made the kids appreciate how much work goes into a movie like this.

    3 years agoby @swak1774Flag

  27. J.A.Ottley.Writer / Director

    Well technically his only Wade for one scene which is where they go to the Jamaican/ Yardie place and you see Wade slashing up the bullets in 2.
    And then just bloody vanishes from the film until he becomes Weapon XI, which doesn't look nothing like Deadpool, the only thing he had in similarity was the 2 swords, and he hardly used them.

    In my POV, when Wade was Wade he was Deadpool, and after that one tiny sequence he has not even the sum of 3 minutes. He was Weapon XI.

    I had heard of Deadpool before this and the thing that pissed me right off, is they got the perfect casting for the role and got the personality of this character so brilliant and it what for 3 minutes screentime and then he becomes a silent mute called Weapon XI.
    Which completely f*cks up the continuity of the character for a spin-off for the character, which people have been waiting for more than like 8 years, i feel sorry for David Goyer whom spent 8 years writing the script.
    All his work down the drain for, nothing because of Fox

    3 years agoby @chronicFlag

  28. The Narrator: The Better Man

    Well, now that I hear this news on Deadpool, my faith is shaken. I definitely won't see it on midnite showing now. Maybe at matinee.

    3 years agoby @narratorFlag

  29. Vamp

    Naw. I'm just as excited for it.

    3 years agoby @vampire2000Flag

  30. rluis107

    My friend just got me a booleg copy, they are running wild in NYC, especially underground booleg. I know 24 people that just saw it yesterday. Out of those 24 people 3 liked it. I just saw it and it suckssssssss asssssss. what the f*ck is this peace of sh*t. I was going to waste 23 dollars for this crap, hell no. Even if they say the ''especial effects'' are not in, it sucks, you can even see it in the previews,looks too fake, i hate that sh*t. I dont want to give any spoilers, but the ending sucks. I hope Hana Montana whatever is that sh*t becomes number one again.... I rather see fast and the furious.

    3 years agoby @rluis107Flag

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