Hours after "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" appeared in U.S. theaters, a "work print copy" was available online.

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Some 16,000 people may have downloaded the leaked final "Star Wars" film from the Internet, the BBC reported Friday.

Lucasfilm Ltd. and the Motion Picture Association of America were not available for comment.

Some 18,700 prints of the film had been distributed to movie theaters worldwide -- 9,700 copies were distributed to 3,700 North American theaters, with many theaters showing the film one minute past midnight Thursday.

Some $627 million is expected to be lost in productivity by U.S. businesses because of the movie's opening, a consulting firm said.