No pandemic: how to make a movie about cryptocurrency for $ 1000 and get into the top US movie distribution

^{Image: Flickr / Balkan Photos}

Justin Ehrenhofer had an idea, some money and a desire to release a movie hit during a pandemic. This allowed us to support quarantined offline cinemas and popularize cryptocurrency. So, he decided to enlist the support of the community and make a film almost on his knees. And what do you think? He did it.

Monero Means Money is a documentary, which actually is a 88-minute lecture on the virtues of the Monero cryptocurrency , no more. But according to the-numbers.com box office tracker, on the weekend of April 10, he somehow became movie number 2 in the US.

All cinemas are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and movie screening has been suspended. But this did not stop the director and producer of Monero Means Money Justin Erenhofer (he is also one of the developers of this cryptocurrency) to find the opportunity to create a film about Monero, a cryptocurrency that focuses on privacy, and go out with him to the top movie box office.

“I looked at the box office results for the weekend of March 20, and I was curious: how did they manage to collect at least something if the movie theaters in the US are closed. I studied the best films of the week and found that they all collaborated with movie theaters for online screening. Then I realized that I have a unique opportunity to make a No. 1 box office movie in the USA. At first I thought about creating the film myself, but I realized that I could not do it alone. And besides, I wanted the film to talk about my passion - the Monero cryptocurrency. I consulted with several reliable people, received positive feedback about this idea and began to act, ”says Ehrenhofer.

He formed a working group: 15 people helped create the film, some of which, without revealing names, were listed in the final credits under pseudonyms. The main "actor" was Dr. Daniel Kim, who in 2019 had already made a presentation on the prospects for the Monero cryptocurrency.

Then they agreed to show the film with several cinemas. This has become, in a way, another campaign to support the offline cinema segment, which are now forced to remain closed and suffer huge losses. The Laemmle Cinemas in Los Angeles and the Tampa Theater in Tampa did an online show, while the Parkway Theaterin Pennsylvania showed a film in the format of a stream from the audience without spectators. Tickets for virtual shows could be bought with a credit card or cryptocurrency (of course, including Monero). All cinemas received a commission: 100 percent of sales or a fixed fee of up to $ 200 - simply because they show the film in an empty room.



“When the idea of ​​creating our own“ virtual cinema ”came up, we realized that it was just necessary to support offline cinemas during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ehrenhofer writes.

He then sent a box office request to specialized sites that track the profits of various films from film distribution: the-numbers.com and Boxofficemojo. After that, the first site revealed the box office data of his film, and the second did not. Ehrenhofer contacted Boxofficemojo, resent the request there, but received no response.

According to the-numbers.com, the film earned $ 3,430 for the first weekend. This briefly made him the number one film in the United States, but he was quickly overtaken by the indie film Phoenix. Oregon ": the online rental of this film brought 11,849 dollars. So Monero Means Money remained in the second place of honor.

“We firmly believe that the film has achieved its intended purpose and increased awareness of the Monero cryptocurrency, the way to protect privacy rights and supported offline movie theaters,” writes Erenhofer.

1000 dollars. That is how much Ehrenhofer’s company rCryptocurrency LLC spent on this project (he is its only participant and its only business was the production of the film). The filmmakers did not plan to take profits for themselves. Cinemas received most of the funds raised, with the exception of a small part that went to pay for the marketing campaign.

“This was more of a logistics problem. Someone needed to see this opportunity, mobilize an initiative group, find out how the cash register reporting process works, communicate with movie theaters and make a movie in 1-3 weeks that people are willing to buy. We had to dock a lot of moving parts of this mechanism in an incredibly short time. I was lucky to be in good health, having free time and stable work. And, unfortunately, not everyone can now boast of this, ”concludes Ehrenhofer.

Be healthy!