The availability of high-profile intellectual property like The Hobbit drew the ire of global copyright enforcement agencies. In March 2018, following a criminal investigation by Vietnamese authorities and pressure from the MPAA, 123movies was officially shut down. The operators posted a message urging users to "respect filmmakers" and pay for content legally.

While the original site was taken down, the brand "123movies" did not die. It became a legacy name adopted by thousands of "clone" sites and mirror links. Today, any site claiming to be 123movies is likely an unauthorized clone operating from a different jurisdiction.

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy (An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies) was a unique target for piracy. Why?

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies cost approximately $250 million to make. That money paid for:

When you use pirate sites, none of these people see a cent. In fact, the MPAA estimated that 123movies cost the global film industry over $200 million in lost revenue annually.