[Steve_Baker]

Anyone who wants to see Avatar (or any western movie) in China can just plunk down the 9-10 yuan (<$1.50) for a (probably pretty decent) bootleg DVD that can be found in just about any marketplace. I'm sure this is mostly for posturing and perhaps economic reasons. I'm sure they sometimes do these things just to remind people that they're there and that they can, even if the people there aren't overly impressed or bothered by it.

My inlaws in China probably watch more American movies than I do and I have netflix.

[dw0rm]

Here (in Russia) we watch everything for free in HDTV quality.

[mahmud]

Doesn't your government broadcast PlayBoy TV for free?

[modoc]

/me moves to Russia

[jcl]

The funny thing is that it is Americans' relative willingness to pay for movies that allows the American movie industry to create in the scale that they do. If bootlegging weren't so prevalent in China, perhaps their movie industry wouldn't need to be supported by decree, and perhaps their marketplaces wouldn't be awash in what are effectively advertisements for America.

[prawn]

Don't want to one-up you for the sake of it, but last time I bought bootleg DVDs in China, I paid Y5.50 (about 80 US cents). The better prices will be outside of the main markets populated by foreigners - the guy I bought from was on the top floor of a market geared to only locals. Prices increase as you go out from there - foreigner markets in Beijing and Shanghai, then eventually other popular places like Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, etc.

[coliveira]

Of course Avatar must look really crappy on these bootlegged DVDs. I guess many Chinese would like to spend the additional money to watch it in 3D.