The Yes Men
The Yes Men Fix The World is a 2009 movie from filmmakers Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno - it documents the duo pulling elaborate media pranks on the likes of Haliburton to the Dow Chemical. After being accepted and becoming a hit at several film festivals (Sundance being one of them), they've recently begun to distribute the film for free on BitTorrent, only asking for donations. According to an article by NewTeeVee it's proven to be a pretty big money maker for the indie film (pulling in around $500 per hour through donations).
This shows that the donation model is one that can truly work with certain types/genres of content. While most production companies and movie studios hate the use of BitTorrent - these filmmakers have truly embraced it. However, while this donation model certainly couldn't work for all films (and especially movie studios or networks), it does give a very unique opportunity for independent filmmakers and could even work with content that has a cult following. Though this isn't the first time entertainment has used this model (Radiohead launched their last album as a donation model and ended up making more money then if they would have sold it via retail), it's certainly inspiring to see it come together for all sorts of media and content. Trailer below: