If you look at Kick-Ass, it was downloaded more than Inception but made about a tenth of Inception's worldwide gross. This suggests to me that because its cinematic 'wow factor' was less, pirates took the opportunity to forego the theatre experience and enjoy it for free. I can't see how piracy has helped it here - judging by its popularity it should have made an awful lot more money. If piracy drove ticket sales then why the stark contrast with Inception?