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How A24 Saved Hollywood from Blockbusters
Why their films feel different
When people choose a movie to watch, they usually do so based on who directed it or who is in it. But recently, people have started watching movies because of the studio. Imagine someone telling you 10 years ago that you should watch a film because Paramount made it.
Now, many people watch a movie simply because A24 produced it. The studio has earned a reputation for cool, weird, and original movies. A24 films have been nominated for over 70 Academy Awards and won 21 of them.
Has it never happened before?
In fact, there was one similar precedent in the history of cinema. The studio of the now-hated Harvey Weinstein — MIRAMAX, which positioned itself as an independent small company producing non-commercial art-house films. Tarantino, the Scream franchise, Good Will Hunting, the Oscar-winning Chicago, Shakespeare in Love, Amelie, Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York, and the list goes on.
But as we know, the greed of the sucker was his undoing: the company was sold to Disney and withered under its auspices.
A24’s success is not an accident but the result of a unique philosophy that combines an auteur approach, bold marketing, and a deep understanding of modern viewers.
