EJ
A24 and Hollywood
For decades, audiences saw a shift and the movie world had devolved into endless remakes, reboots and franchise sequels/prequels. As time marched on in the new millennium, entertainment outlets would grow beyond traditional television and movies, and studios would start to see shrinking returns for movies unless they had a name to bank on. Movie fans have clamored for more originality for quite some time and with the likes of the former Miramax and The Weinstein Company crumbling, indie movies also seemingly started to struggle. Then, along came A24. The distribution studio formed an identity as a company with counter-programming to mainstream Hollywood and their films would often be recognized by their critical reception.
The Growth and the Evolution
A24 never tried to compete with big Hollywood blockbusters like Cannon Films in the 80s. They had their lane and they largely stayed in it. Now their reputation has grown to where they can recently venture out into wider territory and attract bigger-name actors. Early on, the quirky nature of A24 movies meant that audiences knew to expect something original, but also unconventional — to the point that “the turn” of their movies is very horror-like. Even their comedies had a dark edge to them. Recently, with movies like Civil War, Warfare, Materialists, The Smashing Machine or Marty Supreme, their movies are more straightforward and have a more mass appeal, even if they continue to put out the “weird” stuff.
Small fish in a big pond
In the last decade or so, entertainment has changed beyond any kind of wildest predictions, with streaming making the output of franchise content spike even higher and Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm and Fox expanded their brand with a large number of film properties. Now that Netflix and Warner Bros. are in the process of merging (despite Paramount’s attempts to stop it), the plane is about to change even further. There is a growing concern among film fans about this merger, and despite the very real fears, it’s still hard to predict how successful Netflix’s business plan will be going forward.
A24’s biggest all-time hit was Everything Everywhere All at Once, with over $144 million at the worldwide box office, and Materialists was their most successful film of 2025, with over $106 million at the global box office, according to The Numbers. Although they never aimed to compete with big studios, nowadays, you see a handful of franchises enter into “the billion dollar club.” Even Lionsgate now has the John Wick franchise, which has achieved over a billion worldwide. And despite being a company that hasn’t had the kind of accolades that A24 has, they still have had massive success with films like The Hunger Games and the Twilight saga, both of which have entries that have earned upwards of $800 million.
A24 has been expanding and seems to be straying ever so slightly from their former model to become more accessible to audiences. There’s even been talk about the company snatching up name rights, like Bloodsport, and concentrating on more action-oriented and franchise films. However, ever since Cannon Films has been an entertaining cautionary tale about exceeding your grasp, it stands to reason that those in charge of A24 won’t fall into the same traps. Studios like Blumhouse can turn a profit from cheap horror productions. So, even with films like Death of a Unicorn and Opus flopping, you have films like Marty Supreme and Talk to Me bringing enough audiences in.
So, what do YOU think? Is A24 pretty safe in their little corner of Hollywood?
