A24 plans to go mainstream

The Future. A24 is looking to expand into action fare and more IP-driven projects because, for all the brand loyalty the studio has, many of its films have struggled financially. That pivot would be an accompaniment to its typical arthouse titles, not a replacement, giving the independent studio a wide variety of releases. If successful, smaller distributors like A24 and Neon could recreate a model that, ironically, the major studios used to follow in decades past — just now with a modern mastery of branding.

Remaking itself
A24 is looking for some commercial success.

• This summer’s Beau Is Afraid only made $11.5 million on a $35 million budget (the studio’s most expensive film to date) — a disappointing but fair bet after Ari Aster’s last two films, Hereditary and Midsommar, were big moneymakers for the studio.
• That led A24 to try franchising some of its horror successes, including Ti West’s Pearl/X/MaXXXine trilogy and a sequel to the breakout Australian hit Talk To Me.
• The studio has even been in the bidding mix for iconic IPs like the TV rights to Halloween and is set to produce a Friday the 13th series.

It seems like A24 knows the time to cash in on recent successes (a Best Picture win for Everything Everywhere All at Once and huge viewership for Euphoria) is now, especially as it angles for a buyer at a $2.5 billion valuation. Todd Boehly, the billionaire co-founder of Eldridge Industries and the main backer of A24, would probably like to see his entertainment investment become a bigger player.

But after raising $225 million last year from Stripes founder Ken Fox, A24 may also have capital to scale without finding a buyer. It just might need to beat the major studios at their own game to do it.