The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) says that it has worked alongside the Hanoi Police force in order to shut down what is thought to be the largest pirate streaming operation in the world, comprising of Fmovies and a number of other notorious piracy sites.

Launched in 2016, the illicit Hanoi-based operation had a myriad of associated pirate sites, including Bflixz, Flixtorz, Movies7, Myflixer, and Aniwave, which according to ACE drew more than 6.7 billion visits between January 2023 and June 2024. 

With nearly 374 million monthly visits, the syndicate is considered the largest piracy ring in the world. The operation also led to the shutdown of the video hosting site Vidsrc.to, which ACE says was run by the same people. Hanoi police have arrested two Vietnamese men linked to Fmovies, but they have not yet been charged, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The Alliance, whose members include a global network of over 50 media and entertainment companies including BBC Studios, Amazon, and Warner Bros, worked with the Motion Picture Association in the operation, which has long claimed that shutting down piracy sites results in a corresponding increase in traffic to legitimate streaming sites. 

“The takedown of Fmovies is a stunning victory for casts, crews, writers, directors, studios, and the creative community across the globe,” said Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and chairman of ACE. 

“With the leadership of ACE and the partnership of the Ministry of Public Security and the Hanoi Municipal Police, we are countering criminal activity, defending the safety of audiences, reducing risks posed to tens of millions of consumers, and protecting the rights and livelihoods of creators.”

At its peak in 2023, Fmovies was the 280th most popular website across all categories of websites globally, and the 11th most popular website in the TV, Movies & Streaming category, according to data analytics company SimilarWeb. Fmovies has been listed on the US Trade Representatives  “notorious markets” list from 2017.

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Despite the shut down, a number of similar sites with almost identical names still remain live, allowing access to the latest movies for users to stream, for free. 

For years, movie studios and TV companies have been fighting to protect their intellectual property from pirates, however the shadowy industry has proven to be a hydra, with multiple sites popping into existence for every one closed down.

In June, DIGIT reported that the UK had seen a crack down in illegal streaming and piracy, with a string of arrests after video piracy figures skyrocketed, and last year saw police raids in Scottish cities to break up illegal streaming services which had more than half a million customers.