The problem, of course, is that every time somebody runs into a restraint due to DRM, there's a chance of them turning to piracy - which is pretty addictive once it starts.

Exactly. How can the market possibly compete, when the illegal product simply works better than the legal product?

Pirated films are available anywhere on the planet, without wasting time waiting for international shipping, with a broad variety of subtitles, good enough image quality (often even HD) and play on commodity computer hardware, without buying any special devices. They also don't take up any shelf space.

I am amazed that films are not globally released simultaneously, both paid download and theatrical release, yet another competitive disadvantage for legal content. Almost all the english-speaking people I know would much rather download a film today than wait a year or two for it to hit the local cinemas.