In an industry first, moviegoers will be able to use digital currency to buy tickets to the Sundance hit

Hoping to add some more cool points to the stack already assembled, the distributor of teen comedy Dope is allowing moviegoers the chance to pay for their tickets with the digital currency Bitcoin.

Sundance 2015: Dope review – easily meme-worthy teen comedy Read more

The film, which premiered at Sundance to positive reviews, centres on friends who sell drugs in exchange for Bitcoin, making the decision all the more relevant. As of 15 June, buyers are able to use the currency to order tickets online, in a similar way as they would pay via credit card.

The comedy opens on 19 June in the US on around 2,000 screens – an ambitious start for an indie – and Bitcoin can be used to pay for tickets to around 900 of these sites.

“Bitcoin is an integral part of Dope, and we could not be more excited to bring this unique new opportunity to moviegoers,” said distributor Open Road’s chief marketing officer Jason Cassidy, according to website TheWrap. While Bitcoin has caused controversy in the past, its reputation has been cleaned up, thanks to a steadily increasing number of companies, such as Microsoft, which now accept the currency.

Dope, directed by Brown Sugar’s Rick Famuyiwa, tells the story of Malcolm, a 90s hip-hop obsessed teen who ends up with a backpack full of drugs that he doesn’t know what to do with. Realising that his dreams of studying at Harvard won’t come cheap, he soon comes up with a plan. The film’s soundtrack was assembled by Pharrell Williams.

Buzz for the film has grown since Sundance, and Famuyiwa has moved on to a high profile HBO drama, Confirmation, on the back of its success.