A24

Submission 7,219

About

A24 is an American independent film company founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges. Originally starting with distributing films, it would later become known for its production of several acclaimed films, including Hereditary, The Lighthouse, and Uncut Gems.

History

Prior to its creation, all three of A24's founders were involved in film and production, with Katz formerly having led the film finance group at Guggenheim Partners, Fenkel being a co-founder of film company Oscilloscope and Hodges being Head of Production and Development at Big Beach.^[1] Named after the A24 motorway in Italy, the company was officially founded on August 20th, 2012.

The company's first theatrical release was the 2013 film A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, and notable early releases were Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, and James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now.

In the following years, the company would distribute or produce a number of films to critical acclaim, including David Aronofsky's The Whale, Janicza Bravo's Zola, Robert Egger's The Lighthouse and the Safdie brothers' Uncut Gems.

Reception

Most of A24's films have been received positively, with a number of films produced by the company being nominated for the 2016 Academy Awards. That year, Amy won for Best Documentary Feature, Ex Machina won for Best Visual Effects, and Brie Larson was awarded Best Actress for her performance in Room. The film Moonlight was released to universal acclaim as well, winning three Academy Awards out of eight nominations, including Best Picture. ^[2]

In 2022, Everything Everywhere All at Once overtook the 2018 film Hereditary as A24's highest-grossing movie worldwide with earnings of over $100 million at the box office.

Uncut Gems

Uncut Gems is a 2019 crime thriller film directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and distributed by A24. The film stars Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a Jewish-American jeweler with a gambling addiction, as he recovers an uncut opal rock that'll help him pay off his debts to the loan sharks that pursue him. The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $50 million at the box office.

The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse is a 2019 psychological horror film directed by Robert Eggers and starring Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. Dafoe and Pattinson play two lighthouse keepers on a New England island in the late 19th century, and the isolation of the job slowly leads them to madness. The film was a critical success, and several elements of the film, including the performances of the two leads, its plot, and its dialogue, were parodied online after its release.

The Whale

The Whale is a 2022 A24 film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Brendan Fraser, which plans to release on December 9th, 2022. The film, which is set to debut at the Venice Film Festival, has attained controversial status based on the play it's adapted from. Brendan Fraser's role as the main character, which required a 600-pound fat suit, was widely discussed and memed online during the initial "first-look" photos released by A24 in July 2022.