Pirates grab Harry Potter
Wires
November 26, 2002

MALAYSIAN movie pirates conjured up DVD and VCD versions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets the instant the wildly popular film hit screens.

The film, which took a whopping $US87.6 million ($159 million) at the box office in its North American debut, and a further $US54 million in seven other key worldwide markets, is selling in Malaysia at the equivalent of $US1-$US2.

But peddlers admit that "you get what you pay for", saying the movie was videotaped inside a cinema and the picture and sound quality are poor.

"It usually takes a few more months for us to get better quality copies," they say.

Most stalls do not display the movie on their shelves. One salesman communicated with a colleague at a secret location by walkie-talkie to get copies for customers.