Pirating concerns for The LEGO Batman Movie down under

The LEGO Batman Movie will be released in just two months on February 10, 2017 – but not in Australia. There, the movie is due for release on March 30, 2017. Gizmodo AU has highlighted that this is repeating a self-confessed error from 2014, when distributor Village Roadshow estimated that it cost them significant box office takings by delaying The LEGO Movie release.

Piracy of The LEGO Movie cost Village Roadshow "somewhere between $3.5 and $5 million in sales" Burke revealed at a government-led Copyright Forum back in September 2014.

"We made one hell of a mistake with LEGO," Burke said of the decision to delay The LEGO Movie's release in Australia by 54 days.

"We'll now make all our movies day in date with the US. I know 20th Century Fox are and Universal are too."

Ironically, the animation studio behind The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Batman Movie, Animal Logic, is based in Australia. The Gizmodo piece highlights that the Animal Logic CEO has spoken out against movie piracy in the past.