The 95th Oscars: A24’s Curtain Call (Issue VII)

“And the Oscar goes to……Everything Everywhere All at Once!”

If all goes to plan for A24, the world will be frequently hearing those very words during the 95th Oscars. With eighteen nominations, this is a banner year for the independent production company, and should lead to their most successful year as a firm. But, how did A24 get here?

For those unfamiliar, A24 is a company within the broader Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) market. The company is focused on the distribution and production of media content, with a dominant focus on the cinematic arts of television and movies. A24 has also developed the reputation of prioritizing unique and bold storytelling in their films and TV shows. They often give creative control to filmmakers and showrunners, along with committing to showcasing diverse perspectives on screen, both in terms of storytelling and casting. They have also been praised for their efforts to amplify underrepresented voices in the industry.

Despite uplifting minority voices and producing passionate films, A24's founders are still able to use their extensive film-finance backgrounds to maintain the financial integrity and success of the firm. Their measured mix of business and artistry just happens to be the perfect combination for award-worthy success.

In 2012, David Fenkel, John Hodges, and Daniel Katz, three men with professional backgrounds in finance and film distribution, founded the distribution company A24. In short, a distribution company is responsible for getting films to cinemas, video stores, television networks, and other media outlets. Traditionally, these companies acquire and promote finished products in place of relying on in-house production. However, Fenkel, Hodges, and Katz reenergized the market of distribution by including both the creative and financial aspects of the film industry.

Despite the differences between the film and finance industries, Katz summed up one small detail that sparked their success: “I felt like there was a huge opportunity to create something where the talented people could be talented. We find movies [for which] our perspective, our system, our people, can act to make it something special” (Salem 2022). Ultimately, A24 created a two-step plan to success: Find talent; Let them tell their story. To avoid the risks of production, they decided to prove their ability to scout talent by successfully distributing already completed films. In their first year as a distributor, they planned to release eight to ten films (Fernandez 2012).

Within a year, A24 had started to build its brand with a focus on independent, artist-driven films. They continued expansion by signing a distribution contract with DirecTV and Amazon Prime in 2013,continuing their outlandish marketing campaigns (including gun-shaped glass bongs to promote their first hit movie, Spring Breakers). Behind the success, however, was a company that continued to stick to the fundamentals: maintaining low budgets while promoting artist focused films that resonated within their niches.

By early 2016, A24 had already distributed many Oscar-nominated (and winning) films including Room, Amy, and Ex Machina. With all of these accolades, J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, and SunTrust helped A24 to expand their company line of credit from $50 million to $125 million to further their expansion. The money infusion allowed them to diversify into producing while still focusing on the distribution aspect of the company (Lang 2016). This marked the beginning of the company’s vertical integration, allowing them to control and monopolize upon each aspect of the industry. Consequently, A24 saves money and resources by keeping all production and distribution in house.

Despite the brief unforgettable blunder in early 2017, Moonlight, the first A24 produced film, took home top laurels at the 89th Oscars. A24 took home another two Oscars, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, proving their ability to not only identify talent, but also create award-winning films.

Regardless of their new acclaim, A24 stuck to their plan of low budget, artistic movies. Moonlight was produced with a 1.5 million dollar budget with a total estimated budget of $5 million total, including marketing (Schwartzel 2016). Despite this, they raked in a $65 million box office, meaning that even if the estimated budget was off by $5-10 million (which would be unlikely), they still at least tripled in profit. The movie also gained tremendous praise for its low-budget execution of a moving, atypical story of a young queer man. Moonlight revolutionized the qualifications of a Best Picture film, further demonstrating A24’s ability to create and distribute unconventional hits.

Over the next two years, A24 continued to expand their business while maintaining their original business model. The highlights of the year include in-house productions Lady Bird, Hereditary, and It Comes at Night. Despite their success, A24 continued to operate primarily as a distributor rather than a producer.

Moving into 2019, A24 continued to produce quality. While the firm’s innovative interactive website for Uncut Gems starring Adam Sandler stole the spotlight, A24 released a total of twenty-one films (including seven in-house productions). They also generalized their feature film success to include long-form series, spearheaded by the unstoppable co-production, Euphoria, on HBO. In light of their success, A24 faced political and economical problems. The exit of partner John Hodges sparked rumors about Apple potentially purchasing A24 (Katz 2018). Apple quickly shut down these rumors, however, and instead announced their partnership with A24 (Ha 2018).

As COVID-19 shut the world down in 2020, A24 cut back on spending and only released three movies. Two of the films were contractually obligated by the deal with Apple. Following the tumultuous year, rumors came out that A24 had begun to explore the possibility of selling their firm, for the alleged asking price being between two and three billion dollars (Donnelly 2021). The sale did not materialize, and progress picked back up in 2021. A24 released twelve movies, five of which were produced in-house.

In early 2022, Everything Everywhere All at Once, a movie in production from 2018, debuted at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas (Yaniz Jr. 2022). The debut earned raving pre-release and post-show reviews.

Following its release into theaters, the results were astounding, grossing around $108 million, A24’s highest total to date. The record exemplified another success grounding in A24’s vertically integrated formula.

Were there mainstream names attached to the film? Check. Michelle Yeoh, our leading woman, the Russo Brothers producing, the Daniels directing, and a slew of musical talent producing music including Mitski, Andre 3000, and Randy Newman. Was there a low budget? Yes, $14 million. Was it built for awards season? The story follows A24’s typical path of choosing to amplify minority visions and stories in their scripts, but also tackling the stories that resonate with people. This movie does just that, capturing the struggles of Evelyn, and her lesbian daughter, Joy, as they tackle acceptance and Eveleyn’s possible divorce (both literally with her husband and figuratively with her daughter). Everything Everywhere All at Once has already been nominated for eleven Oscars, so A24 is well on their way to achieving another successful production.

The combination of A24’s tried and true process, their ability to identify talent, and freedom to enable artistic vision is unmatched. Their formula, which really should be called Everything, Everywhere All at Once, has and will continue to be successful, paving their path to achievement in the entertainment and film industries.

One question looms: Will A24 cash out via merger after this potentially amazing awards season or will they keep continuing their unstoppable climb?

Regardless, A24 deserves a toast for this movie.

Godspeed Everything, Everywhere All at Once.

*fade out*

Sources

D.K.Wilson. “How to Sell a Script to A24.” freshmenscreenplay.com, June 9, 2020. https://freshmenscreenplay.com/how-to-sell-a-script-to-a24/.

Donnelly, Matt. “Indie Film and TV Studio A24 Explored Sale with $3 Billion Asking Price (Exclusive).” Variety. Variety, July 14, 2021. https://variety.com/2021/film/news/inside-a24-billion-dollar-sale-1235018988/.

Fernandez, Jay A. “New Distribution Company A24 Launches in the Lead-up to Toronto Film Festival, Looks to Release 8-10 Films per Year.” IndieWire. IndieWire, August 20, 2012. https://www.indiewire.com/2012/08/new-distribution-company-a24-launches-in-the-lead-up-to-toronto-film-festival-looks-to-release-8-10-films-per-year-45472/.

Ha, Anthony. “Apple Partners with A24, the Studio behind 'Moonlight' and 'Hereditary'.” TechCrunch, November 15, 2018. https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/15/apple-a24/.

Jr., Robert Yaniz. “'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Was Nearly a 'Crazy Rich Asians' Reunion.” Showbiz Cheat Sheet, April 21, 2022. https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/everything-everywhere-all-at-once-crazy-rich-asians-reunion.html/.

Katz, Brandon. “Is a Game-Changing Film Acquisition on Deck for Apple?” Observer, March 30, 2018. https://observer.com/2018/03/a24-apple-sale-netflix-amazon-hulu-details/.

Lang, Brent. “A24 Expands Credit Facility to $125 Million on Strength of 'Room,' 'the Witch'.” Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, February 23, 2016. https://www.yahoo.com/news/a24-expands-credit-facility-125-million-strength-room-193931607.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACy9bbC2LITfHTtcxUUUvFfcNMAz7GoEVL8HC-d6h5bHD39f2SIOfjf0qFtaoum5e5fPr_bl9r31vTYvKtj6D2WdJ3l3OFx5RNpRjv5gJUXP4vCimNACWrLbtvKFoMcUs-8fMWZX8bbtHhJWzzu3R4AaBq1fnvUWP4wrOgt-S-Cv.

Salem, Merryana. “How Film Company A24 Became the Ultimate Movie Cult.” Junkee, May 24, 2022. https://junkee.com/a24-ultimate-film-cult/324583.

Schwartzel, Erich. “How 'Moonlight' Became an Improbable Hit.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, November 23, 2016. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-moonlight-became-an-improbable-hit-1479846112.

Wade, Joseph. “Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh in Talks for New Daniels Movie.” The Film Magazine, August 31, 2018. https://www.thefilmagazine.com/awkwafina-michelle-yeoh-swiss-army-man-directors-movie-news/.

Spring 2023