The cult following of A24

Just over a decade ago, Daniel Katz was driving down the A24 ^[1], a motorway in Italy, when he had the idea to start a new independent film company. Partnering with two other industry pros, David Fenkel and John Hodges, the company came to fruition in 2012, named after the motorway on which it was conceived. Just over a decade later, A24 is one of the biggest names not only in independent cinema but the world over.

Katz and the company garnered a reputation like no other distribution or production outfit, to the extent that just the presence of its logo on a release poster or trailer leads to instant internet and critical buzz. But how did A24 get to this point, and is its seemingly untouchable reputation within independent cinema well-founded?

A24’s first foray into distribution came a year after its creation in 2013, with the release of a film by Roman Coppola. The same year, they released four more films, including the widely successful Selena Gomez-starring movie Spring Breakers. By the mid to late 2010s, A24 was distributing around 15 films a year and had built up working relationships with cult directors like Ari Aster and Greta Gerwig. In 2016, they expanded into production with Moonlight, which went on to win the ‘Best Picture’ Academy Award in the following year.

Meanwhile, the rise of social media was increasingly tightening its grip on the successes and failures of independent cinema. Film fans formed communities on sites such as Twitter, Reddit, and even Facebook groups, each with its own specific niche. The influence of the online film community only grew with the introduction of Letterboxd, a social media platform which allows users to share their film opinions and ratings. The audience’s opinions have gained just as much of a platform as those of the critics. This community placed emphasis on elements such as stylistic cinematography, quirky writing, and inclusive cult casts.

A24 distributed films that aligned perfectly with what internet film fans were looking for. From the beauty of The Florida Project to Robert Pattinson’s starring role in Good Time to the pairing of indie darlings Timothée Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan in the quirky coming-of-age Lady Bird, each distribution choice lent itself to a growing online community of cult indie cinema fans. They even distributed internet comedian Bo Burnham’s feature directorial debut, Eighth Grade ^[2]. Though A24 films cover a wide range of genre and themes, their output retains a consistency of style and an underground, indie feel.

As the company gradually became more and more associated with the aesthetics and figureheads of the internet’s revived interest in indie cinema, those who followed it began to trust A24 further. Even outside of its distribution and production, A24 has cultivated a brand that is clean, unique, and lends itself to a cult following. Pairing a neat logo and social media presence with inventive marketing techniques, which include auctioning off memorabilia from their films, bringing their collaborators together on their branded podcast, and selling A24 branded lighters, their marketing strategy is near flawless. It feels like a community rather than a corporation.

The logo quickly became associated with contemporary independent cinema, and people began to root for films just because A24 were attached to them. A cult following built around the company, seemingly to the extent that any film they distributed was a surefire success – cinephiles didn’t seem to care what a movie or TV show was about or who created it. A24 had garnered its own specific fanbase, and cinephiles were planning cinema visits on the promise of the company’s own certified quality.

While A24 were choosing their output carefully, the directors they worked with were chosen carefully, too, and distribution through the company provides an audience pull that few other production outfits could provide. Though they’re huge names, few people visit the cinema solely because 20th Century or Sony distributed it.

The trust people have in A24 isn’t necessarily misplaced, but it often seems confused. The company provides both distribution and production services, meaning their involvement with the projects they work on varies. The A24 style combines both films the company has directly produced and those they have carefully selected. Often, their role is not creator or producer but rather tastemaker. Audiences should be careful not to attribute a film’s creative artistry to its production company.

The untouchable reputation of A24 also seems to have led to audiences overexaggerating the quality of some of its releases, perhaps even hesitant to aim any criticism towards it. Would some of their more mediocre releases have garnered the same praise if they hadn’t been prefaced with the A24 logo? Would they have made less at the box office without it?

Independent films shouldn’t have to require A24 at the helm of their production or marketing to gain support from cult cinema-goers. Though the company is often a reliable backing of quality cinema with a varied catalogue, proponents of indie cinema mustn’t entirely rely on A24 to decide which indie directors succeed. There’s a whole world of important cinema outside of their stylised and carefully marketed output – A24 should serve as an introduction to it rather than defining it.

Still, the upward trajectory of A24’s popularity shows no signs of stopping. Just last year, they distributed the Daniel Kwan-directed blockbuster Everything Everywhere All at Once, which became their highest-grossing and most successful release yet, making over $14 million and winning seven Academy Awards ^[3]. For better or worse, the A24 cult is more prominent than ever.

References

^{^} A24 (faroutmagazine.co.uk)
^{^} Eighth Grade (faroutmagazine.co.uk)
^{^} seven Academy Awards (faroutmagazine.co.uk)