In Brief:
- Hollywood Hills, a cosmic horror film backed by The Sandbox co-founders Arthur Madrid and Sébastien Borget, is bringing its Villa NFTs to OpenSea, with five legendary estates from the film’s world at the front of the drop.
- Illustrator Steve Scott drew all 3,000 Villas. They go to investors in the film’s Republic crowdfunding round, and bigger investments unlock rarer tiers.
- The minimum stake is $200 and the campaign runs through Dec. 31, 2026. Backers are promised 120% of their investment back before profits are split.
OpenSea is getting Hollywood Hills Villas. According to the film’s official account, the drop includes “Five legendary estates from the world of Hollywood Hills,” and the Villas will be out before the movie is.
“Every Villa is a house from the world of the film, and they drop before the film, not after,” the project wrote when it announced the drop on X.
Hollywood Hills Villas are coming to @opensea .
Five legendary estates from the world of Hollywood Hills, a cosmic horror film backed by the founders of @TheSandboxGame . Every Villa is a house from the world of the film, and they drop before the film, not after.
The mint
•Hollywood HillsView on X ↗
The project’s website says each Villa is an address in a fictional take on the Hollywood Hills, and each one carries a clue to the film’s central mystery. Steve Scott illustrated the full set of 3,000.
Who gets a Villa
You can’t mint one openly. The Villas go to people who invest in the Hollywood Hills Reg CF offering on Republic, and how much you put in decides which tier you get.
The $200 “Passenger” tier comes with a Common Villa. The $300 “Comet Rider” tier pays out a Legendary, Rare or Uncommon Villa, depending on when you buy in. “Witness” backers at $500 get an Uncommon, and “Investigator” backers at $1,000 get a Rare. A “Society” stake of $2,500 earns a Legendary, and anyone investing $10,000 or more is guaranteed one.
All Villas include entry to a holders-only Discord, The Black Fire Archive investigation game and early access to a prequel comic. Uncommon tiers and up also get a digital art book. Rare tiers come with 125-year story annotations, and the website said Legendary Villas can become “canon in the comic or The Black Fire Archive.”
Villas are limited to the first 1,000 investors. Buyers were told to trust only the OpenSea collection link on the official Hollywood Hills website.
The Villas are an investor perk and sit outside the security on offer.
The fundraise
Republic opened public fundraising on Oct. 8, and it closes Dec. 31, 2026. The production wants $2.5 million in total, including $1 million through Republic. The Reg CF offering has a $75,000 minimum target and caps out at $5 million.
Investors get a contractual share of revenue. They recoup 120% of what they put in first, and whatever is left is split after that. Other perks on the list are a hero prop from the film, a private screening and a personalized signed screenplay.
“This is the tokenization of a real world asset,” said Madrid, The Sandbox SAND $0.05862 ▼ -10.5% co-founder and chairman.
About the film
Hollywood Hills is the feature debut of writer-director Benjamin Rozovas. The plot follows a true-crime sightseeing tour of the Hollywood Hills that turns into a nightmare after a mysterious cosmic event.
Madrid and Borget are lead investors and partners, and The Sandbox is on board as a strategic marketing and community partner. Harrison Allen and Oscar Gervet are producing. Benjamin Domenech and Santiago Gallelli of Rei Pictures are the Spanish partners.
On the advisory board are Pressman Film CEO Sam Pressman, filmmaker Nicolas Saada and Thomas Vu, who was an executive producer on Arcane and previously ran creative at Riot Games.
The film was first announced at the Cannes Film Festival in 2024. Principal photography is set for the third quarter of 2027 in Spain, and the team is aiming for a 2028 release.
“We’ve been working on this cosmic horror movie for almost two years. The main idea was to use our experience on a couple of things from The Sandbox,” Madrid said.
The production has also teamed up with Los Angeles operator Grave Line Tours on a “Dead & Famous” bus tour, which starts in October.
Background
When Animoca Brands’ Robby Yung took charge of The Sandbox, Madrid and Borget stepped back from running it day to day. Madrid kept the chairman role, and Borget moved into an ambassador position.
“Everything is changing in the movies industry, and it’s pretty interesting to build an IP and build a community even before the movie is made,” Madrid said.
Borget described the Villas as part of the story.
“The Villas are not simply collectibles. They’re pieces of evidence, carrying clues that invite people to investigate, form theories and become part of the mythology,” said Borget.