They included Spider-Man 2 together with the original Spider-Man on one DVD as a two-for-one "special offer".

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Tracking down the pirate DVDs

So if a pirate breaks the code on Spider-Man 2, he wouldn't necessarily be able to break the code on Elf.

FORBES: Hang the Pirates

Most had Spider-Man 2, along with other movies not yet out at UK cinemas including Tom Hanks' The Terminal, Keira Knightley's King Arthur and Garfield - The Movie.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Tracking down the pirate DVDs

Take China, where government regulations keep most Western movies off the shelves, but rampant piracy means that plenty of consumers own and have seen recent flicks like Spider-Man 2.

FORBES: Superhero Gaming

One copy of Spider-Man 2 was purchased to check its quality - and another was immediately produced by one of the traders to take its place on the blanket.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Tracking down the pirate DVDs

Since Burger King nabbed merchandising deals with two of the most popular movies of the summer, Shrek 2 and Spider-Man 2, same-store sales have been strong, with those in U.S. franchises up 11.8% in June.

FORBES: Healthy Choices Supersizing Fast-Food Firms

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is expected to create 3, 500 jobs, but one issue is that much of the job creation happens in already wealthy areas of the state such as New York City and Long Island.

WSJ: "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" Lured to New York By Tax-Policy Web

Since it's now OK for ClearPlay to create filters that make Spider-Man 2--produced by Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people )--less violent, it's also legal for bowdlerizers to create filters that would serve other purposes.

FORBES: My Family, My Movie

" But the whole movie keeps going back and forth -- between his domestic distress and his troika of adversaries, none of whom musters a scintilla of the evil allure exuded by Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, the tentacled cyborg who enlivened "Spider-Man 2.

WSJ: Film Review