# Dope (2015 film)
*Dope* is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written and directed by [Rick Famuyiwa](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-famuyiwa), about a geeky high-school senior in [Inglewood, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/inglewood-california), who becomes entangled in a drug deal after Ecstasy is hidden in his backpack. It premiered at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) in January 2015 and was released theatrically by Open Road Films on June 19, 2015.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70502-DOPE)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Rick Famuyiwa, who also wrote the screenplay[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70502-DOPE) |
| Release | Sundance Film Festival screening January 2015; Los Angeles and New York opening June 19, 2015, distributed by Open Road Films[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70502-DOPE) |
| Main cast | Shameik Moore (Malcolm), Tony Revolori (Jib), Kiersey Clemons (Diggy), Zoë Kravitz (Nakia), A$AP Rocky (Dom), Blake Anderson, Kimberly Elise, Chanel Iman, LaKeith Stanfield[2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/dope) |
| Key crew | Producers Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi; music by Pharrell Williams and Germaine Franco; cinematography by Rachel Morrison[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70502-DOPE) |
| Box office | $17,986,781 worldwide against a $7,000,000 budget, with a $6,100,010 domestic opening[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3850214/) |
| Critical reception | 88% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 161 reviews; a Metascore of 72 based on 37 critic reviews[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dope/) |
| Rating | R, for language, drug content, sexuality/nudity, and some violence, all involving teens[2](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/dope) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Malcolm ([Shameik Moore](https://www.edgepedia.org/shameik-moore)) is a high-school senior in The Bottoms, a tough neighborhood of Inglewood, California, who is obsessed with 1990s hip-hop culture, plays in a punk band with his friends Jib ([Tony Revolori](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-revolori)) and Diggy ([Kiersey Clemons](https://www.edgepedia.org/kiersey-clemons)), and dreams of attending Harvard.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015) • [6](https://time.com/3926047/dope-movie-review/) A chance encounter with the drug dealer Dom (A$AP Rocky) brings Malcolm and his friends to Dom's nightclub birthday party; when the scene turns violent, they flee without knowing that Dom has hidden Ecstasy in Malcolm's backpack. The youths then try to evade armed thugs who want the stash.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015)
The only way out of the predicament is to sell the drugs, and Malcolm, Diggy, and Jib hatch a plan to sell them online using untraceable Bitcoin as currency.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/dope) • [8](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dope/) Along the way Malcolm falls for Nakia ([Zoë Kravitz](https://www.edgepedia.org/zoe-kravitz)), a smart girl connected to Dom's orbit.[7](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/dope) [Forest Whitaker](https://www.edgepedia.org/forest-whitaker), who also produced the film, serves as narrator.[9](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015/cast-and-crew)
## Production
Rick Famuyiwa, whose earlier films include *The Wood* (1999) and *[Brown Sugar](https://www.edgepedia.org/brown-sugar-2002-film)* (2002), set the story in his home town of Inglewood and described the film as a coming-of-age movie that revisits the themes of *The Wood* with the perspective of an older filmmaker.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/06/19/bitcoin-the-brat-pack-and-blackness-director-rick-famuyiwa-talks-about-dope/) The film was produced by i am OTHER entertainment, LLC and Significant Productions.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70502-DOPE) Pharrell Williams served as executive producer and [Sean Combs](https://www.edgepedia.org/sean-combs) as co-executive producer.[11](https://time.com/3889511/dope-movie-clip/)
**Technology as subject.** Famuyiwa made Bitcoin, YouTube, iPhone apps, texting, streaming, and the dark Web major elements of the story, and he described the film as "Risky Business" for the social-media generation.[12](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-dope-la-movie-20150614-story.html) He said that because people interact with the world through mobile devices and computers, it felt natural to use that as a storytelling device.[10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/06/19/bitcoin-the-brat-pack-and-blackness-director-rick-famuyiwa-talks-about-dope/)
**Casting.** Shameik Moore, then known for [Cartoon Network](https://www.edgepedia.org/cartoon-network)'s *Incredible Crew* and episodes of *House of Payne* and *Reed Between the Lines*, sent an audition tape from his hometown of Atlanta and immersed himself in 1990s hip-hop culture to prepare for the role; he also sings on the film's soundtrack.[13](https://time.com/3926352/shameik-moore-dope-interview/) Rapper A$AP Rocky plays the street dealer Dom.[14](https://journals.ku.edu/amsj/article/download/11982/11292/24397)
## Reception
At Sundance in January 2015 the film was received as a breakout hit, with trade outlets including *The Hollywood Reporter* and *Variety* publishing favorable reviews.[15](https://939c9b01811224bb3dcf-d6f090436a6f3838a347f2f22505b78d.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/uploads/editions/2428/original_c1ddaedfc84c33b95e9f0badc18a0ddbe5c09b2b.pdf) Editor Lee Haugen received the first-ever U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Excellence in Editing at the festival, with the jury recognizing his innovative cutting style.[16](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/PAPILLON_International-Final-Production-Notes-7-10-18.pdf)
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 88% Tomatometer from 161 reviews, with the site's critics consensus citing "a starmaking performance from Shameik Moore and a refreshingly original point of view from writer-director Rick Famuyiwa"; the audience Popcornmeter stands at 83% from more than 25,000 ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015) Metacritic assigned a score of 72 based on 37 critic reviews, indicating generally favorable reception, with 32 positive, 5 mixed, and 0 negative reviews.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dope/) Reviewers drew connections to earlier cinema: *Time* described the friendship among Malcolm, Jib, and Diggy as camaraderie "straight out of John Hughes" and the plot as "pure Risky Business,"[6](https://time.com/3926047/dope-movie-review/) while *Slant Magazine* compared the film's structure to a Los Angeles drug-caper lineage.[8](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dope/) Reception was not uniform; the *Los Angeles Times* critic Robert Abele called it "just another unfunny grab bag of stereotypes," while the *San Francisco Chronicle*'s Mick LaSalle gave it a 100, writing that "everything about it feels real."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dope/)
## Box office
The film grossed $6,100,010 in its domestic opening and $17,506,470 domestically, 97.3% of its total, with $480,311 internationally, for a worldwide total of $17,986,781 against a budget of $7,000,000.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3850214/) A theatrical rerelease followed on September 4, 2015, and streaming release on January 5, 2016.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015)
## Legacy
Famuyiwa's work on *Dope* led directly to other projects: while finishing postproduction after Sundance he was recruited to direct *[Confirmation](https://www.edgepedia.org/confirmation-film)* (2016) for HBO, and he was subsequently named director of *The Flash* for Warner Bros., with commentary crediting him for balancing drama, comedy, and violence in *Dope*.[17](https://www.vogue.com/article/rick-famuyiwa-confirmation-interview) • [18](https://time.com/4437696/suicide-squad-dc-extended-universe/) The film is also frequently cited in scholarly discussion of 2010s African-American cinema; one analysis describes it as featuring "a group of teenage nerds of color who lionize and imitate 1990s hip-hop, even while they suspiciously navigate the world of contemporary drug dealers."[14](https://journals.ku.edu/amsj/article/download/11982/11292/24397)
## Notes on runtime
Sources disagree on the running time. Rotten Tomatoes and [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) list 1 hour 43 minutes,[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3850214/) while the AFI Catalog and *Slant Magazine* list 115 minutes.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70502-DOPE) • [8](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dope/)
## References
1. [Dope (2015), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70502-DOPE)
2. [Dope, Universal Pictures At Home](https://www.universalpicturesathome.com/movies/dope)
3. [Dope (2015), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3850214/)
4. [Dope (2015), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015)
5. [Dope Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/dope/)
6. [Review: Dope Injects Urban Struggle With John Hughes Heart, Time](https://time.com/3926047/dope-movie-review/)
7. [Dope, The New Yorker (Richard Brody, June 18, 2015)](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/dope)
8. [Review: Dope, Slant Magazine (Ed Gonzalez, June 12, 2015)](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dope/)
9. [Dope: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dope_2015/cast-and-crew)
10. [Bitcoin, the Brat Pack and blackness: director Rick Famuyiwa talks about 'Dope', The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2015/06/19/bitcoin-the-brat-pack-and-blackness-director-rick-famuyiwa-talks-about-dope/)
11. [Relive the Best of '90s Hip Hop in This New Clip From Dope, Time](https://time.com/3889511/dope-movie-clip/)
12. [The comedy-drama 'Dope' defies 'black film' expectations, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-dope-la-movie-20150614-story.html)
13. [What Dope Star Shameik Moore Thinks the History Books Will Say About Him, Time](https://time.com/3926352/shameik-moore-dope-interview/)
14. [Dickens Disappeared 29, African Studies Journal](https://journals.ku.edu/amsj/article/download/11982/11292/24397)
15. ["Dope" movie earning raves as it opens nationwide, The Annapolis Times](https://939c9b01811224bb3dcf-d6f090436a6f3838a347f2f22505b78d.ssl.cf5.rackcdn.com/uploads/editions/2428/original_c1ddaedfc84c33b95e9f0badc18a0ddbe5c09b2b.pdf)
16. [Papillon International Production Notes (on Lee Haugen's Sundance award)](https://kfd.kinepolis.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/PAPILLON_International-Final-Production-Notes-7-10-18.pdf)
17. [Rick Famuyiwa on Making Confirmation and Meeting Anita Hill, Vogue](https://www.vogue.com/article/rick-famuyiwa-confirmation-interview)
18. [What's Next for the DC Extended Universe After Suicide Squad, Time](https://time.com/4437696/suicide-squad-dc-extended-universe/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Coming-of-age films › Coming-of-age films released 2010 onward*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license