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How A24 has established itself as one of Hollywood’s leading studios
Since its creation, the independent American production and distribution studio A24 (Midsommar, Euphoria) has caught Hollywood and its competitors off-guard, offering its directors and actors a large artistic freedom. Here are the reasons behind the success of the studio founded by Daniel Katz, John Hodges and David Fenkel in 2012.
Bold, poignant stories
In just 12 years, the American production and distribution studio A24 (Midsommar, Pearl, Euphoria, Moonlight) founded by Daniel Katz, John Hodges and David Fenkel has shaken up the landscape of Hollywood giants. One of the studio’s strengths? Poignant films that address a wide range of topics, from family conflicts to coming-of-age stories, grief, immigration, or depression… While some studios are still a tad wary of bringing certain stories to the big screen, A24 has been up to the challenge since its launch in 2012.
That being said, the studio is still living up to its bold approach with the film Babygirl, a Fifty Shades of Grey-like thriller featuring Nicole Kidman in sexual and domination scenes, scheduled for 2025. The upcoming months will also unveil a religious horror story with Hugh Grant in Heretic, Small Soldiers for Generation Z (Y2K) and a new sultry gay romance by Luca Guadagnino (Queer).
And the risks are paying off. A24 films are often awarded prestigious prizes during official film ceremonies. For several years now, the studio has been carving out a place of choice at the Academy Awards and at the Emmy Awards. It has enabled Brendan Fraser, Brie Larson, Mahershala Ali and Ke Huy Quan to win the precious golden statuette.
A24: an inclusive studio
Another strength of A24? The studio shows a willingness to include different profiles that is still all too rare in Hollywood. Beef, Past Lives, and many other projects have been directed by Asian filmmakers who tell stories based on their own life experiences.
Moonlight (2016), a coming-of-age drama film about a young black gay man, was a turning point in A24’s career. The cast of the film gathers almost entirely Black actors, in addition to its director Barry Jenkins.
Issues of ethnicity and sexuality are not the sole focus of the studio, since numerous female protagonists and directors from various cultures are also leading projects (Lady Bird, Love Lies Bleeding).
Movie stars featured in A24 films
Robert Pattinson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Michelle Yeoh, Kirsten Dunst… Some of the biggest names in the cinema industry have starred in A24 productions. For some actors, it was an opportunity to try their hand at new genres, like Awkwafina who swaps comedy for a more serious register in The Farewell. For others, it was a chance to stand on the other side of the camera, like Jonah Hill with his film 90s (2019) and Bo Burnham with Eighth Grade (2018).
The presence in the films’ credits of major directors, such as Sofia Coppola, Denis Villeneuve, Sean Baker or Greta Gerwig, is also one of A24’s major assets. By offering directors greater creative freedom, A24 projects enjoy a strong visual identity in which the vision of filmmakers can flourish.
Derivative products, dating apps… A24’s original marketing approach
Asserting its presence on social media, the studio has been quick to adapt to its audience with unique communication strategies to promote its films. To promote Alex Garland’s film Ex Machina in 2014, the marketing team created a fake profile on the dating app Tinder of the main character Alicia Vikander, a humanoid with a deceptively innocent demeanor.
Today, the studio still taps into its creativity to promote films. For Beau is Afraid (2023), an Instagram account dedicated to the fictional company MW was created, responding to online messages sent by users. Last October, for the American screenings of the drama We Live in Time starring Florence Pugh, packets of tissues reading “it’s ok not to be ok” were handed out to spectators at theater entrances.
Beyond the promotional dimension, A24 also offers a wide range of clothing and merchandising with its own logo available on its official website. T-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and vinyls featuring Euphoria, MaXXXine and Uncut Gems are on sale. A clever way of getting the word out about A24 films and series, borrowed from the music industry, which has already proved its worth with rock lovers.
Heretic (2024) by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, starring Hugh Grant, coming out on November 27th, 2024.
