“Dope” Gets Summer Release

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The film that took the Sundance Film Festival by storm earlier this week, has a formal release date. Open Road announced that Rick Famiyuwa’s comedy, Dope, will open in theaters this summer.

The film that sparked a bidding war between six studios and sold for $7 million to Open Road Films and Sony Pictures, will open in theaters on June 12.

That’s the first release announcement title among this year’s fest deals and this one was legit: the auction resulted in a pact with a $7 million minimum guarantee, with a $15 million P&A. Multiple bidders included the Weinstein Company, A24 and Fox Searchlight, and Focus Features. Open Road secured domestic distribution and Sony releases internationally.

ALSO SEE: DOPE REVIEW

The coming-of-age story centers on a high school trio in Los Angeles: Three geeks whose obsession with punk rock and 1990s hip-hop culture make them easy pickings for the jocks and gangbangers in their tough neighborhood. A chance invite to an underground party leaves one with a stash of Ecstasy that will either destroy the Ivy League college aspirations of the friends, or lead them to be re-identified, finally, as being dope.