Image courtesy of A24.
Three characters, two numbers, one letter and a production studio named after an Italian highway. We need to talk about A24. What is that little white logo that flashes on screen before most of the low budget, aesthetically pleasing movies from the past decade – the one that introduces all the movies recommended by your film degree friends?
A24 Films was initially founded as a distribution company in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges in New York City, with the aim of showcasing “movies from a distinctive point of view”. Since they first began ten years ago, the studio has distributed 110 films and their films have received a total of twenty five Academy Award nominations to date. But what is it that has taken this small movie distribution company and set them on the path to becoming the face of arthouse films?
First and foremost, it is clear to see that in an industry laden with sensationalism, explosions, reboots, and reboots of reboots, the masses value the authenticity of A24 films. A24 tells stories about people to people and does not limit themselves to just one genre. They have made movies exploring the horror genre, such as Midsommar (2019) and Hereditary (2018). They have produced drama movies such as The Lighthouse (2019), and The Farewell (2019) , as well as some curious comedies such as Swiss Army Man (2016), and their now infamous, Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022). However, they are best known for producing some of the most beautiful coming-of-age films of the last decade, such as Lady Bird (2017), Mid 90s (2018), Eighth Grade (2018) and The Florida Project (2017). Using beautifully crafted stories and picturesque scenes laden with emotion, they portray real life perspectives and narratives which are rarely seen in the film market today. Many of A24’s films have very loose and minimal plots, with a stronger focus instead toward theme, characters, and cinematography, and this niche aesthetic is what they have become associated with. There are innumerable amounts of TikToks and Spotify playlists trying to recreate the vibe of an A24 film; of hazy summer days and the fear of growing up but it is impossible to truly claim the style of one of these movies because there is no definitive style. That’s what everyone says, ‘I know what an A24 film is, but no A24 film is like any other’.
With their wide array of movies, there is something that caters to everybody’s taste but that is not to say that they cater to the masses. They are very creator driven, constantly looking to find universality within specifics, and, as cheesy as it is to say, there is a strong sense that they are driven by passion over profit. These films are not about pleasing the audience with a happy ending and tying up everything neatly with a bow. They are uninterested in catering to the masses as can be seen in the way that they shy away from mass theatrical screenings. Despite their internet infamy, A24 movies are notoriously hard to find in commercial cinemas. They recognise that most people aren’t trying to watch a man use a corpse’s flatulence to propel him across the sea (Swiss Army Man), or a movie about two lighthouse keepers slowly descending into madness (The Lighthouse.) Therefore, they are strategic in putting the films into cinemas with an audience that will be more eager to watch them, normally opting for smaller ‘indie’ cinemas.
This is linked with the second major reason for their success which is their brilliance in marketing. A24 have been pioneers in their marketing strategies from their debut. They have always been a brand associated with their social media presence, most notably their personified twitter account where they retweet memes about themselves and show a general sense of self awareness. The New York Times reported that “for most theatrical releases, A24 would spend roughly 95 percent of its marketing money online,” and this definitely comes across when one looks at the marketing campaigns they hosted for a variety of the films they have distributed. For instance, when Spring Breakers was released back in 2012, putting the studio on the map, a large percentage of ticket sales were generally thought to be owed to the social media marketing campaign which featured the star studded cast of the film arranged in a parody of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting ‘The Last Supper.’ The internet exploded at the controversial image circulating the internet and this controversy ultimately coincided with cinema attendance. The LA Times raved about how the studio let loose “the viral image of James Franco as a resplendently thugged-out Jesus.”
They continued to lean into the steadily growing influence of social media over the years and learned how to manipulate it to their advantage.One of their most memorable stunts was when they created a tinder account for Ava, the protagonist of the 2014 hit Ex Machina played by Alicia Vikander to promote the movie on the weekend of its release. AdWeek reported that, ‘Ava’ asked questions such as, “Have you ever been in love?” and “What makes you human” before sending her matches a link to an Instagram, which revealed the nature of the stunt as it was filled with an ad for the Ex Machina premiere and a short clip from the movie.
This is not the only social media account they have made for a movie character- shockingly, not even the only one they have made for a non-human character. Back in 2015 to promote Robert Eggers horror film, The Witch they created a Twitter account for ‘Black Phillip’ the breakout goat star of the film. Undoubtedly hilarity ensued with them posting memes and even poking fun at Donald Trump who was running for president at the time
Perhaps their success is owed to everything I’ve mentioned above, their unflinching authenticity and smart marketing interns- maybe- or maybe they’re just catering to an audience proven to love any modern movie with a four by three aspect ratio. Either way, they’re doing something right. In an industry as flashy and competitive as cinema, distributors tend to be quite invisible and yet the production logo for A24, a relatively tiny company, carries cultural weight with filmmaker Augustine Frizzell even describing it as a ‘stamp of approval.’ That has got to mean something.
