The head of a leading cinema chain has hit back at claims that higher ticket prices justify the illegal downloading of movies.

The chief executive of Palace Cinemas, Benjamin Zeccola, said cinemas were just trying to stay in business by increasing the top ticket price to $20.

''If you took away screen advertising, we wouldn't have a cinema that survived,'' he said. ''If you took away the bars, we wouldn't have a cinema that survived.''

Mr Zeccola, whose chain fully or jointly operates 22 upmarket cinemas around the country, is upset at widespread claims that the cost of movie-going excuses illegal downloading.

Typical have been comments on Fairfax websites - reacting to news of increased ticket prices - as ''the higher the tickets, the more people download the movies'' and ''they can increase their prices as they wish; I will just keep downloading''.

The extent of the practice was highlighted when the new season of Game of Thrones premiered this week, with fire-sharing network TorrentFreak showing Australians downloaded 5.9 million episodes last year.

A recent survey for the Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation shows 27 per cent of Australians aged over 16 are streaming or downloading pirated movies or TV shows.

Mr Zeccola said he often argued with people who said they wanted to watch movies whenever and wherever they wanted, without paying for them.

''It's upsetting that people use ticket prices as a justification for stealing a film,'' he said. ''I don't think it's any different from saying, 'I need a plumber's tools now and I can't afford a plumber but there's a plumber's ute parked out the front so I'm just going to steal his tools. It won't hurt anyone.'

''The truth is it hurts everyone at every level of the industry - it hurts writers, out-of-work actors, ushers and ticket sellers.'' Mr Zeccola said that after the cost of hiring a film, a cinema might be left with just $6 to $7 from the average ticket price of $12.50.

''Then you take out the cost of labour, rent, marketing teams, advertising and all the other infrastructure. You're left with nothing.''

Other operators agree, with David Seargeant, the head of Amalgamated Holdings which runs the Event chain, saying wages were the main factor.

''We are one of the highest labour-cost countries in the world,'' he said.

Mr Zeccola said he got upset at the argument that Australian cinema tickets were expensive by global standards.

With most Palace staff aged over 20, they are paid $25.50 an hour.

''We want Australians to be high-paid workers. As a society, we've demanded that; we don't want US rates of pay,'' he said.

''So we pay people triple what they get paid in the States. And in London, cinema staff are paid $15 an hour - $10 an hour less than Australian staff.''

Mr Zeccola holds that sharing pirate DVDs is even worse than downloading.

''When they burn it to a DVD and start passing it around, that's when I really get angry,'' he said.

He said films for the younger audience such as The Hunger Games and Twilight were particularly affected.