Or you could watch it with a friend once they buy a copy instead of going about it illegally.
Nah, I've been burned too many times by crappy movies and software (I don't listen to music). I buy movies and software, but only once I'm sure they're decent. I can't tell you how many software programs I have to pirate in order to find something decent. When I do, I buy it. The last movie I bought was the Angel Beats series, but I pirated it and watched it first. Since then I've pirated about 20 different movies/tv series and they were all crap so I deleted them. If it was like $1 or $2 for a movie (like it should be), I wouldn't bother. But $20 to $70 for a movie/tv series is asinine if it turns out to be crap. Most people my age are doing the same thing.
I used to rent movies before I bought them, but that doesn't exist anymore. You've got Redbox, but the selection is limited. Netflix isn't great either. Netflix will probably get this new Star Wars movie in about 5 years and by then 2 more will have come out.
Why do you think they don't let you return movies to the store if they're crap? They claim it's because people will just copy them and then return them, but the reality is, the movie studios produce such crap content nowadays if they allowed returns, they'd go under. Sure you have binge movie watchers that just watch a movie one time and then never watch it again, but they're in the minority.
They claim that ever time a movie is pirated, it's a lost sale. That's total BS. If I couldn't pirate, I wouldn't own 1/10th of the movies I do. I have a conscience. The copy of Angel Beats I purchased hasn't even been opened. Why would I bother? I don't even have a DVD player anymore (except in my computer). Haven't for many years. I bought it because I wanted to show my support to the movie studios, not because I wanted or needed the DVD.
I'll do the same thing with LBT 14. I'll probably pirate it first because it's quicker than buying the movie in the stores. But I'll buy it a few days later when I see it in Target or wherever.