An independent film touting the virtues of the privacy coin, Monero (XMR), briefly topped the U.S. box office charts earlier this month.

The film accomplished this feat with a total gross of just $3,430 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unabridged lecture on privacy coins tops US box office

Monero Means Money, a self-distributed feature-length film praising the virtues of XMR momentarily stole the top-ranking slot at the U.S. box office. The film claims to “raise awareness for electronic and financial privacy rights.”

With cinemas in lockdown, Monero Means Money’s $3,430 gross had the film sitting at the top of the box office for a brief moment on April 10, according to the-numbers.com. 

The movie was screened to empty seats at the Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles, before moving to the Tampa Theatre, with additional showings taking place at the Parkway Theater & Film Lounge near Pittsburgh.

The figures were later revised, with a film called Phoenix, Oregon grossing $11,479 knocking the pro-XMR film back to second place.

The film’s creation was motivated by opportunity to top charts

The 88-minute film comprises an unabridged keynote speech delivered in 2019 by crypto advocate, Daniel Kim. Mr. Kim promotes the adoption of privacy coins amid increasing financial surveillance.

In an interview with Vice, Monero Means Money’s producer and director, Justin Ehrenhofer, states that the film was put together after he identified the opportunity to make a box office topping film on a minute budget.

“I saw the box office results for the weekend of March 20 and was curious to see how there were any reported sales with US theaters closed," Ehrenhofer said.

“I investigated the top movie for that week and saw that they partnered with theaters for digital showings. I thought that the opportunity to make the #1 box office film in the US would be unique.” 

Creating the movie appears to have cost Ehrenhofer less than $2,000 in total. He asserts that most of the money grossed has gone to the cinemas, with a small cut dedicated to marketing the film.

“We strongly believe the film achieved its intended goal of raising awareness for Monero, privacy rights, and struggling theaters,” Ehrenhofer added.