How the Film Industry Utilizes Blockchain and Digital Assets
The film industry (primarily in the U.S.) has been exploring various uses of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology over the last 4–5 years. Cryptocurrencies have indeed made their way into cinema, and have been widely welcomed.
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One of the key attractions for producers, financial directors, and filmmakers who opt for crypto funding is the speed of transactions compared to traditional money transfer systems. Blockchain technology eliminates the need for financial intermediaries, which typically charge significant service fees.
However, money transfers are not the only use cases for cryptocurrencies in the film industry.
Cutting-edge applications of crypto and blockchain technology in the film industry
Crowdfunding and сrowdinvesting
Cryptocurrencies are most commonly used for financing film production, and attracting investments from all who wish to participate.
One standout example of digital assets and blockchain technology application comes from non-profit organization Decentralized Pictures (DCP). Its CEO Leo Matchett, together with director Roman Coppola and producer Michael Musante, created a blockchain-based crowdfunding platform that uses independent audience voting to decide which film projects should be prioritized for funding. Additionally, anyone can make a contribution to a particular project that they believe holds potential or whose storyline they find most appealing. This approach grants virtually every promising film project a potential stepping stone to Hollywood.
DCP operates as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO), providing a platform for emerging filmmakers to propose their projects and for users to vote on them. Winning projects receive funding, whether it's to shoot an initial sequence or even fully realize their project, depending on budget and ambition. The native token of the project is FILM, issued on the Tezos blockchain. A board of directors manages the Decentralized Pictures platform, overseeing the projects that have received fan votes.
Interestingly, renowned director Steven Soderbergh also contributed a hefty $300,000 to Decentralized Pictures, stating his interest in monitoring the experiment to see if film financing on the blockchain is feasible.
Decentralized Pictures: a blockchain platform where viewers select and vote for film projects. Source: decentralized.pictures
The next example involves the team from the decentralized lending protocol Goldfinch, who have also shown interest in financing film projects. They have supported ventures such as the animated feature film “Bombay Rose” and the movie “Twist”, starring Lena Headey and Michael Caine. Later, the Goldfinch team decided to create a cryptocurrency crowdfunding platform for independent filmmakers, called FF3. The first project to receive funding through this platform was the horror film “The Dead of Winter,” directed by Steven Graves, a tale described as a classic ghost story.
At the moment we are just scratching the surface with the potential of this technology,” says Goldfinch COO Phil McKenzie. “Web 3.0 — using cryptocurrencies, the blockchain and smart contracts — can solve a lot of challenges that we face as filmmakers, as financiers, as distributors and as sales agents. It could change how we fund content, how we release it, how we make it
Web3 crowdfunding platform FF3 funds film projects. Source: first-flights.com
Selling cinema tickets for crypto
Another practical use of digital currencies in the film industry is in the selling of movie tickets. Some cinemas are experimenting with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, allowing customers to purchase tickets with these digital currencies. Many customers have responded positively to this method of payment. Consequently, viewers have a broader choice of payment methods, which also promotes wider acceptance of cryptocurrency.
For example, AMC, the world's largest theater chain, has accepted cryptocurrency and sold movie tickets since 2021. This service is provided by BitPay, a cryptocurrency payment service provider, supported by more than 100 of the most popular digital wallets, including Exodus, Metamask, Electrum, Trust Wallet, and Coinbase.
The NFT market
Another interesting use case is the implementation of NFTs. Non-fungible tokens offer the opportunity to provide cinema fans with exclusive digital art pieces. These could include memorable photographs taken during filming, scenes that did not make it to the final cut of the movie, and intriguing behind-the-scenes footage.
However, there can be challenges. In 2022, Quentin Tarantino, the director of the cult film “Pulp Fiction,” planned to list seven previously unseen and cut scenes from the movie, along with his handwritten script and personal audio commentary, on the NFT platform OpenSea. However, he faced a lawsuit from Miramax Studios for “infringement of intellectual property rights.” Eventually, the parties reached an agreement and the incident was settled, but not without gaining widespread attention.
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