LOS ANGELES, Jan 3 — The first installment in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy was illegally downloaded more than any other movie in 2013, according to Torrentfreak.com’s annual ranking.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” released at the end of 2012, was pirated 8.4 million times through BitTorrent networks.

In second place was “Django Unchained,” also released in late 2012. Quentin Tarantino’s western was downloaded 8.1 million times during 2013. The box-office hits “Fast and Furious 6” and “Iron Man 3” came in third and fourth place respectively.

Torrentfreak.com’s ranking accounts only for peer-to-peer downloads carried out through BitTorrent networks, which are just one of a number of internet file sharing protocols.

Top 10 Most Downloaded Movies on BitTorrent in 2013 (source: Torrentfreak.com) 01. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: 8.4 million  02. Django Unchained: 8.1 million 03. Fast and Furious 6: 7.9 million 04. Iron Man 3: 7.6 million 05. Silver Linings Playbook: 7.5 million 06. Star Trek Into Darkness: 7.4 million 07. Gangster Squad: 7.2 million 08. Now You See Me: 7.0 million 09. The Hangover Part 3: 6.9 million 10: World War Z: 6.7 million. — AFP-Relaxnews