Across 96 films released at the time of this article, the average Production Budget on each film rounds out to a cool $6 million, with the Box Office revenue across the 96 films adding up to $798 million. Eggers: In the very beginning, when we went to Sundance initially, I didnt think that this was going to have such a large audience. So I just called the guy. IFC earned a raft of Oscar nominations when it decided to put its muscle behind Boyhood and transform it into a phenomenon, but dumping all of its eggs into one beautifully textured basket helped to underline the paucity of love that most indies receive from their distributors, who ferry them from festivals to home video with all the solemn purpose of Charon taking passengers across the river Styx. Good A24 films anticipate the zeitgeist, and the best ones galvanize it. Only Lovers Left Alive drips with style, wisdom and ironic humor as Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton play hip, immortal layabouts. Maybe we werent geniuses with Spring Breakers, but we were the ones who said, Lets put it in theaters, because we could build on that. People liked Spring Breakers. It would cost too much to buy Mississippi Grinda fighting chance in theaters, so the film is making its way into the world through 20 million smaller screens rather than a few dozen large ones, and more viewers will have a chance to appreciate it as the sublime hangout movie that it is. By the end of its opening weekend, it had raked in more money than all of Korines other films combined. The company, improbably, was based in New York, not Los Angeles. Katz: Some of it was probably misplaced, dont you agree? Not necessarily, like, to win Best Picture and ten Oscar nominations. He also produced . So what is an A24 film? That was just acting! It was not like being in a cinema. But more independent existed then. The whole thing was really intense. Aizenberg: I remember that Sunday we all got on the phone and were like, Were going over a thousand screens.. (Blindsided teens, many of whom had been intrigued at the thought of seeing former Disney star Selena Gomez in a more mature performance, assailed the Internet with complaints that they had paid to see the Worst Movie Ever Made.) So I think they were hoping, and discovering, that they might be able to do that with The Witch. Katz: They were kind of comfortable with the Under the Skin release. The best scares always come from unexpected places. Jennifer Kents drama is a psychological heavyweight that examines how parents feed their demons to quell the pain. John has been a trusted partner who helped conceive A24 and for that we will always be grateful, noted A24. Photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker. I mean, I have no idea what theyre doing, really. But I think in experiences since then, doing mid-budget or relatively low-budget movies, if you try to do a toned-down version of thatIve just seen it not work, again and again and again. Over the past six years I have been fortunate to work with a diverse group of talented storytellers across film and TV and look forward to continuing those collaborations in my future endeavors.. That was tough. Their hair and makeup people, actually, are the people that had an issue with this. [19], In January 2017, the company acquired the United States and Chinese distribution rights for their first foreign language film, Menashe. And theyre aiming at them. 2023 THE TRACKING BOARD. Halfway through the campaign, I think it went the other way. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Other 2013 theatrical releases included Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, and James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now. Aizenberg: I think we knew we had something at South By. Fenkel: In LA, every meeting is about the hot air. [laughs] I mean, I doubt that, because I know the people that work there. Hodges teamed with Daniel Katz and David Fenkel to launch the company, which is based in New York City. Aizenberg: That first private plane didnt make it to Austin. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. And that takes time. Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. Surely theyve learned by now that theres a ceiling for arthouse films these days. You could tell that they wanted to be great. Daniel Katz and David Fenkel will continue to oversee the NYC-based indie. Fenkel: But it was like, Youre not going to be 20 minutes late for Scott Rudin. So you ran. James Franco (actor, Spring Breakers, The Adderall Diaries): This is one of the things theyre great at: taking something small and delicate and giving it the kind of support that other people cant. Their whole point was, We dont know this world. You were in the A24 offices. We wanted to deliver in a meaningful way. And then we drank a huge amount of red wine. Heading into production nearly a decade after the premiere of Jenkins only other feature (the excellent Medicine for Melancholy), the film has been waiting a long time for a company with the confidence required to finance it. BREAKING: John Hodges, one of the founding members of A24, has announced his departure from the production and distribution studio to focus on future opportunities. A24 was set up ten years ago by David Fenkel, John Hodges and Daniel Katz, all veterans of New York's independent film business. For a medium-size film to succeed without a marketing blitz twice the size of its production budget, its not enough for it to be goodit has to have a hook. Katz: Yeah! In 2023, A24 became the most nominated single studio of that year's awards with 18 total nominations between 6 of its films (Everything Everywhere All at Once (11 nominations, the most nominated film of that year's awards, including Best Picture), The Whale (3 nominations), Aftersun, Causeway, Close, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (each with 1 nomination)).[5]. And someone was like, Where did those images come from? And I was like, Google? At the time of my visit, however, A24 still looked more like a startup than a movie studio, and you could find the countrys fastest-growing film companys actual HQ only by following the flimsy paper signs that had been taped up along the 17th-floor hallway outside its headquarters. But then also do things that other companies arent doing. Harmony Korine (director, Spring Breakers): They have balls. Fenkel: Id love to say from the first cut we knew. Hollywood is run by accountants at this point. I just started talking. Agent. For a start, it was founded on the wrong coast - New York, not Los Angeles - by three relatively young arthouse film executives, Daniel Katz, David. We want to hear from you! YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. But then when we started to screen the film at Sundance and saw the audience reactions, it was clear that there was a much larger audience for this movie than any of us thought. Deadline is a part of Penske Media Corporation. [15], In January 2016, Sasha Lloyd joined the company to handle all film, television distribution and business development in the international marketplace. How do we get Spring Breakers? And then Noah got Spring Breakers. I legitimately watched people almost pass out. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. As one of the founding members of the New York-based company, Hodges played a key role in putting A24 on the map, culminating with last years best picture winner, Moonlight, just five years after it was launched. And I was just acting! Oh my god, its new! Its coveted because six of the past seven winners were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and the harrowing, emotional Room looks poised to follow in their footsteps after it opens in October. And I felt with these guys it was a dialogue. Key grip. Losing a movieI wanted to jump off a bridge. The question with any company that lavishes attention and resources upon a modest amount of product is, of course, where does the money come from? ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE|SUBSCRIBE|CONTACT. So long as A24 continues tooperate independently and make edgy films from newcomers and established veterans alike, Ill be a happy moviegoer. Fenkel: And then I started saying, No way. Its exciting. Since the small blast of trade articles that greeted the companys inception, theyve remained unusually quiet. In the last 18 months alone,along with Room and The End of the Tour,it has pioneered the abortion comedy with Obvious Child, scored a commercial hit with the seductive thriller Ex Machina, released one of the most daring science fiction films this side of 2001 in Under the Skin, and driven the most lucrative documentary in years with Asif Kapadias Amy Winehouse portrait, Amy. Whoa! Because theyd made a curated, awesome, crafted film. It was also that A24 was releasing these films not with a sigh and a shrug, but with panache, style, and humor: bright neon colors, guerrilla marketing tactics, and in the case of James Francos Britney Spears-loving gangster character from Spring Breakers, an actual Oscar campaign. A24 has only managed to turn each of its main-slate films into an event because the companys been ruthless and visionary when it comes to determining the difference. [laughs] I remember I had to have a conversation with Alicia about it, where she was saying, What the hell? and I was saying, I dont know. Hodges had been an integral part of the studio since its inception in 2012, along with co-founders David Fenkel and Daniel Katz. A24 has an estimated net worth of about $1.89 million. Theres music labels I can think of as well. The news of Hodges exit was abrupt, but one source said the move has been in the works for some time. And so anytime you speak with someone whos not a pure accountant, is not a pencil pusher? Brie Larson (actress, Room, The Spectacular Now): A24 has the unique ability to find and champion authentic narratives that cut to the core in a raw and honest way. And it just kept getting better and better and better. Wed be like, Heavey, just make sure hes alive and you can get him to communicate.. Fenkel: Do you have to be a genius to do Sofia Coppolas movie, or Harmonys? The company said he will exit to focus on "future opportunities," but did not clarify beyond that statement. I think when we started [2016], it was another, like, what Id consider a building year. I just And it was the hair and makeup people. Many of the countrys most vital filmmakers, unwilling to accept that their next movie would have to be either shot on an iPhone or connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, have begun to abandon ship. Because even the companys failures are interesting. Yes, Scream VI Marketing Is Behind the Creepy Ghostface Sightings Causing Scares Across the U.S. David Oyelowo, Taylor Sheridan's 'Bass Reeves' Series at Paramount+ Casts King Richard Star Demi Singleton (EXCLUSIVE), Star Trek: Discovery to End With Season 5, Paramount+ Pushes Premiere to 2024. And then over the course of, like, four months, we bought a lot of movies. That was where I learned what Tinder was. Fenkel: I just cannot stop. And there are studio subdivisions, like Fox Searchlight, that have consistently guided films like 12 Years a Slave and Birdman to Academy Awards and box office success over the past twenty years. Whatever lingering reservations I had about the VOD side of A24s business were dismantled by the recent rumblings of a demonically possessed goat: The DirecTV logo may still be lurking toward the bottom of The Witchs teaser poster (which accurately identifies and champions Black Phillip as the movies breakout star), but at some point along the way it was decided that this crowd-pleasing, pants-ruining work of art has the makings of a communal sensation, and A24 pivoted.
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