Sundance: ‘Dope’ Sells to Open Road, Sony

PARK CITY – Filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa‘s urban coming-of-age dramedy Dope is on the verge of landing a U.S. home with Open Road (U.S.) and Sony (international) after sparking an all-night bidding war at the Sundance Film Festival, according to several source.

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The Weinstein Co., Open Road, Lionsgate, A24, Fox Searchlight, and Relativity were all in the mix, but it ultimately came down to Open Road and TWC. Pulling off a surprise coup, Dope could mark one of the biggest deals of the festival so far with $7 million. Sources say there is also at least a minimum $20 million marketing commitment.

Set in the post-hip hop, gang-infested neighborhood of Inglewood, Calif., Dope tackles the story of a high school geek (Shameik Moore) trying to get into Harvard while dodging drug dealers and other obstacles.

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Dope premiered Saturday evening, drawing an impassioned an impassioned response from the audience and transforming into one of buzziest titles emerging from Sundance this year. WME Global is handling domestic rights.

Forest Whitaker narrates the film, with Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Zoe Kravitz, Blake Anderson, and A$AP Rocky also starring. Famuyiwa wrote the script.

Whittaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi produced the film, with Michael Y. Chow, Rick Famuyiwa, and David Lonner executive producing.

Famuyiwa is repped by WME and Oasis Media Group.