LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paramount Pictures says business leaders across the country have joined the effort to allow students to see Ava DuVernay’s civil rights drama “Selma” for free.

The studio said Monday that cities including Boston, Nashville, Philadelphia and San Francisco will follow the lead of New York, where a group of 27 African-American business leaders created a fund to provide 75,000 tickets to seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade students to see the film.

DuVernay’s film chronicles events leading to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

To obtain a free pass, students must show their ID or report card at the box office of participating theaters, which can be found at the website www.SelmaMovie.com/studenttickets .

More cities are expected to be announced this week.