A24 plans to venture into more commercial direction in the future

The cult favorite A24 is finally venturing into more commercial projects in the near future after years of producing stand-alone arthouse projects. An exclusive from The Wrap revealed that the studio has been on the lookout for more action and big IP projects to expand its reach in the industry.

The American independent entertainment company has been the reason behind a majority of award-winning productions in the past few years, out of which 16 films have received Academy Awards in various categories.

The studio that made films of high quality in terms of story, visuals, and casting will step into the zone of fast commercial movies with its current struggle for acquisitions of rights to franchises, which began with Michael Myers's Halloween franchise. A24 was founded 11 years ago, on August 20, 2012, by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges.

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A24 plans to pick up more action and big IP projects, thus making its space in the commercial film business

The world of cinema has been revolutionized ever since A24 created the independent film space in Hollywood and took over it. Founded by New York film veterans Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges, the film studio started small with A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III in 2013.

It reached the pinnacle with Everything Everywhere All at Once in 2022, which became the highest-grossing film worldwide with a box office collection of $141,141,737.

However, a recent exclusive from The Wrap has revealed that A24 is no longer going to restrict itself to indie movies and series. With the struggle to acquire rights to the Halloween franchise against Miramax, A24 has started paving the way for a new strategy to expand its business.

Their efforts to enter mainstream cinema have been solidified by acquisition executive Noah Sacco, as he has begun making rounds to talent agencies for action and big IP projects as they intend to "deemphasize the traditional character/auteur-driven dramas.”

A distribution executive added on the topic:

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

However, the expansion of the production house and search for big-budget commercial films do not mean that the studio will be moving away from auteur-driven dramas. It is part of their effort to reinvent themselves as well as the media around them by building upon something that already exists.

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Reasons behind the shift to commercial filmmaking and production

While the inside reports via The Wrap suggest that A24 will not be discontinuing their efforts to bring coming-of-age stories from budding directors, they will surely be focusing on brand value and profits as they look to invade the field of commercial cinema.

The company's setbacks with their production of Waves (2019), The Green Knight (2021), and Ari Aster's recent release starring Joaquin Phoenix, Beau Is Afraid, led to approximately $35 million in losses. The Exclusive mentions a quote from the top agent in the industry:

“The auteur business is a lousy, high-risk business that does not attract potential buyers. That’s a big problem if you’re looking to sell or seek additional investment.”

They added:

“Auteur film labels never last unless they stay small, like Sony Pictures Classics. Whenever, they go big, they fail. Because no one watches those movies. A24 will obviously win awards, but there’s only so long you can lose money.”

This radical change from small-scale cinema to commercial productions is a path that has been followed by Miramax, Annapurna, The Weinstein Company, and Paramount Vantage in the past.