Laughs, high energy levels and some outrageous set pieces make this examination of the complex relationship with distant family a fun journey of self-discovery

Writer-producer Adele Lim, who worked on the script for Crazy Rich Asians, now makes her feature directing debut with this likable and brash Asian-American comedy about four women leaving the US for a trip to the Chinese homeland; they come to terms with their roots in various ways, expressing sexualities queer and straight and of course celebrating friendship.

It all barrels along, with a journey-of-discovery narrative template not entirely dissimilar to the recent Book Club sequel ; the energy levels are high and there are some outrageous gags, between which the mandatory sentimentality is reasonably managed although occasionally the sex-positivity theme is rather earnestly signalled. And given how contemporary and hip the script is striving to be, and the fact that it’s specifically about four American nationals flying to China, the lack of any mention of the recent Covid lockdown and diplomatic froideur between China and the US is a bit weird. This project could, of course, have originated before the pandemic.

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Between Awkwafina, Ali Wong and the cast of Joy Ride, new paths are being forged for actors and comics who used to be stuck in the sidelines

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In the 2012 female-led American comedy Pitch Perfect, an Asian-American character named Lilly is introduced as a shy, softly spoken aspiring singer. Lilly isn’t just quiet – her voice barely rises above a whisper. And as her bandmates throw their energy around, she is mostly in the background, with her reserved presence played for laughs.

It was a small role, but it spoke volumes. On screen and in the wider Western culture, women of Asian descent have long been tagged with the tropes of meekness and obedience – the good student (Mona in Pretty Little Liars), the compliant daughter (Jade Wu in Sweet Valley High) and the hard-working employee (Ingrid in Partner Track). Unfailingly polite, considerate and deferential, the model-est of the model minority.

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The Oscars are the most anticipated movie awards show of the year, closely followed by hundreds of millions of movie fans around the world.

This year’s Academy Awards ceremony received plenty of attention as well, with one film standing out from all the rest.

With seven awards overall, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress, ‘ Everything Everywhere All at Once ‘ was the star of the night. The independent film impressed the voters, despite having a relatively tiny budget compared to competitors including ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’

The success didn’t come as a complete surprise. The film had already scooped up dozens of accolades , including two Golden Globes, but winning seven Oscars was an entirely different level.

Oscar Boost

Renewed attention from the press and film fanatics boosted interest among the broader public. This typically increases legal sales and views on streaming platforms, especially for relatively small releases.

‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is no longer running in theaters, so there is no bump there. That said, there is another area where we observed a massive spike in interest, although that’s unlikely to please the filmmakers.

The Oscars typically have a direct impact on piracy activity, and the big Oscars winner is no exception. Based on a sample of torrent activity tracked by IKnow , we can report that pirated downloads of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ skyrocketed this week.

Oscar Piracy

Before discussing the numbers, it’s important to highlight that pirated copies of the Oscars winner have already been circulating for months. The first high-quality copy leaked last May and it was in the top ten most pirated films for several weeks in a row .

Since its release, the film has been illegally downloaded and streamed millions of times. In January of this year, we observed two modest spikes in downloads , once after the Golden Globes win and again when the Oscar nominations were announced. After that, downloads leveled off again.

These earlier piracy boosts are notable, but they pale in comparison with the download boost observed in our sample this week. On Monday, pirated downloads of ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ increased by 761% compared to the week before.

This isn’t just a relative increase either; serious demand from pirates made the Oscar winner the most pirated film worldwide on Monday, beating many newer releases and blockbusters.

Interest dropped off on Tuesday, but there was still a five-fold increase in downloads compared to a week earlier. By then, however, Cocaine Bear had taken over the spot for the most pirated film.

More Oscar Effects

Oscar-related surges are nothing new. Last year we spotted a similar effect for Best Picture winner ‘CODA’ with a tenfold increase in downloads. In absolute numbers, it didn’t come close to this year’s winner, even when correcting for sample size.

The Oscar boost isn’t limited to the Best Picture winner either. Runner-up ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ won four Academy Awards and a 268% boost in pirate downloads. Meanwhile, Best Picture nominee ‘The Triangle of Sadness’, which didn’t win an award, failed to see a massive download boost.

The chart above shows the estimated number of pirated downloads for each of the three films over the past weeks, with ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ standing out with the most pronounced download surge.

In closing, we should stress that all data reported here are estimated based on a large sample of millions of global daily torrent connections. These numbers are not exact nor do they include other forms of piracy, such as pirate streaming sites and direct downloads.

It’s clear, however, that the Oscars continue to be a defining event for film enthusiasts, including those who can’t or don’t want to pay.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.