Is A24's Indie Reign Coming to an End?

"With a $2.5 billion valuation, it's pretty obvious that they need to expand into more commercial films," says a distribution exec

BY Nika Petrosian Published Oct 12, 2023

With Halloween fast approaching, we may be in for another fright — is A24 going mainstream?

The possibility of the beloved indie film studio taking a more commercial route would be enough to make fans shudder, but upon an insider revealing that the company could start to dip its toes into a more lucrative film market, it seems this nightmare for some may very soon become a reality.

In a recent report from The Wrap, an unnamed A24 distribution executive shared that the production company started looking into picking up more commercially profitable stories this past summer.

"Everyone in the independent film space is aware that A24 needs to pivot to more commercial films alongside its arthouse slate," the anonymous source said. "With a $2.5 billion valuation, it's pretty obvious that they need to expand into more commercial films."

The prospect of A24 switching gears has left fans quite weary of what's in store for the company, which is responsible for recent breakout movies in the arthouse film scene (The Lighthouse, for example) and quintessential coming-of-age indie films (Ladybird, Moonlight), as well as HereditaryUncut Gems, the Oscar-boggarting Everything Everywhere All at Once, Midsommar, Minari and more. As the production company that took risks in bringing these stories to life, having made the movies that film Twitter has built its personality around, it has helped bridge the gap between art girlies, film bros and old-guard cinephiles. 
 

The biggest criticisms stem from fears that A24 is selling out. In a time when the industry seems flooded with one big-budget blockbuster after another, the film studio has been presenting audiences with fresh takes on classic genres, like this summer's terrifying Talk to Me.

The complaints reflect Martin Scorsese's ongoing criticism of the MCU; in his eyes, A24 may be one of the only Hollywood studios left that can do cinema well.
 

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