Fmovies: World’s largest piracy ring shut down by Disney & major studios

Fmovies and other piracy sites, which collectively accumulated more than 6.7 billion impressions in less than six months, were shut down by a coalition of major studios such as Disney, Amazon, and Warner Bros.

Despite efforts from the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a coalition of prominent entertainment companies and production houses such as Amazon, Disney, and Warner Bros., piracy sites continue to be a significant issue for studios. However, ACE has been dedicated to shutting down these sites over the years.

It has been announced by ACE that the organization has partnered with the Vietnamese government in order to dismantle the largest piracy operation in the world. For those who may not know, Vietnam is the primary location for many illegal piracy websites.

According to Charles Rivkin, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE, the takedown of Fmovies is a remarkable success for the casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and creative community worldwide.

Eleven in Stranger Things and stock image of a pirate flag — Netflix/Unsplash

“Thanks to the collaboration between ACE, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Hanoi Municipal Police, we are effectively combatting criminal activity, safeguarding the well-being of audiences, minimizing threats to millions of consumers, and preserving the rights and livelihoods of creators.”

Fmovies, along with its affiliated pirate websites such as Bflixz, Flixtorz, Movies7, MyFlixer, and Aniwave, received a total of over 6.7 billion visitors from January 2023 to June 2024. With an average of 374 million visitors per month, this collective was the largest piracy operation globally.

Piracy Sites Are Not Having a Good Time

Despite the takedown, neither ACE nor Hollywood’s Motion Picture Association (MPA) have claimed responsibility for it yet.

Despite the efforts to take down sites, content piracy remains a widespread issue with countless active websites. These sites constantly adapt by changing domains and utilizing different methods to evade shutdown. In addition, many of them have large followings on platforms such as Telegram and Discord, with millions of members.

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These piracy sites do not directly store content, but instead offer links to cloud storage platforms. These platforms, such as Mega, KatDrive, Google Drive, and GDrive, are commonly used by the owners of these sites to share pirated movies and shows.

The impact of piracy is not limited to one industry, as unlawful distribution of manga alone results in a loss of approximately $800 million for the industry.