Universal Pictures has won a rare victory against internet pirates who threatened to bring down their muscular summer blockbuster, The Hulk.
Kerry Gonzalez, from New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to making a digital copy of the film and then posting it on the internet two weeks before its cinema debut.
Mr Gonzalez, who faces three years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, is one of only a handful of movie pirates to be convicted of copyright infringement.
The case is unique in terms of the speed with which it was resolved.
A digital "tag" inserted into the movie helped authorities to bring Mr Gonzalez to justice just three weeks after he committed the crime.
The internet has bestowed a mixed blessing on the film industry.
Studios have embraced the web as a way to generate buzz for their new releases - particularly expensive blockbusters such as The Hulk, that rely on big opening weekends to make back their money.
But the internet has also allowed pirates to trade copies of a film online, depriving the studios of a box office just as music industry record sales have vanished into the ether.
"It's been a concern of ours for the last few years," said Rick Finkelstein, president and chief operating officer of Universal Pictures. "Ever since we saw what happened in the record industry, we knew it was only a matter of time."
Mr Finkelstein said the company now monitored the internet constantly, and alerted the FBI as soon as it was aware The Hulk had gone missing.
Universal executives provided an unfinished version of the movie to an advertising agency before its release. An employee there lent it to an acquaintance, who then passed it to Mr Gonzalez, the government said.
The "rough" cut generated scathing criticisms on underground websites that the film's special effects were mediocre.
Enraged Universal executives were forced to publicly address them for fear that the film, which cost more than $100m to produce, would flop.
In the end, The Hulk prevailed.
The movie took in more than $62m in its opening weekend, setting a record for a June release.
"I don't think it affected the opening," one Universal executive said.
"But who knows? Maybe it could have been even bigger."
Read ComicBookMovie.com's compilation of earlier articles about this story HERE