Feature: How A24 became the major movie studio for indie filmmakers

A24 has solidified itself as the "indie darling" of film studios, gaining a sizable cohort of devotees (many of them young) who rep the studio's merch like fans of a rock band. Started in 2012, A24 made a name itself by releasing smaller art-house and art-house adjacent films in a time when the mid-size movie was quickly being shuffled from theaters to streaming. Some of the studio's early successes include Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, and Robert Eggers’ The Witch. The latter being a prime example of A24's unique business model: mid-budget movie gets a mid-size release with some edgy, digital-first marketing to turn a mid-size profit. But, as A24 has grown, so has its movies' budgets. We probably won't see an A24 Superman anytime soon, but the studio’s more recent in-house productions and festival acquisitions show a trend away from the indie films that helped set it apart. Today on FilmWeek, Larry speaks with culture editor for the New Yorker, Alex Barasch, about the rise and evolution of A24.

You can read more about A24's creation and its growth in Alex's piece "A24's Empire of Auteurs".