For the first time, moviegoers will have the option of paying for their tickets online with the digital currency Bitcoin. An exclusive partnership between Open Road Films, MovieTickets.com and GoCoin will give people the option of using Bitcoin when purchasing tickets for Dope, which opens across the U.S. on June 19, 2015.
Fans can use the unique alternative payment option to purchase their tickets beginning June 15. International payment platform GoCoin will help process transactions for MovieTickets.com in a way similar to credit card purchases — but simplified, since users won’t have to complete the standard form of required information. The option will be available for more than 900 of the approximately 2000 theatres across the country where Dope will be playing.
The deal was facilitated by social media agency Partiqal, but the collaboration makes perfect sense. Dope follows high school student Malcolm (Shameik Moore), a self-described geek carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles. However when a party invitation unwittingly saddles him with a bag full of drugs, Malcolm and his friends turn to Bitcoin as a way to sell them quickly and quietly. The film debuted to critical acclaim at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
“Dope is fresh, innovative and cutting edge. This partnership reflects all of those qualities of the movie,” said Open Road Film’s Chief Marketing Officer Jason Cassidy. “Bitcoin is an integral part of Dope and we could not be more excited to bring this unique, new opportunity to moviegoers.”
Unfortunately there does not appear to be a list of participating theatres where the payment option will be available.
