While major studios were scared off by a movie about a farting corpse (played by Harry Potter), A24 knew that would be exactly what their core audience – terminally online, culturally-adventurous millennials – would love to watch. Six years later, the same directing duo, known as “the Daniels,” released a film about a middle-aged, Chinese-American woman who runs a laundromat. On a budget of 140 million at the box office, scooping up seven Academy Awards in the process.
structure. Indeed, the firm’s headquarters in New York has been specifically designed to accommodate this approach. “No one has an office; everyone sits out on an open-plan floor,” one source remarked. This atmosphere is designed to encourage team members to share ideas, regardless of their position in the organization. Above all, A24’s management seems to want to provide the freedom to ideate and experiment. “I felt like there was a huge opportunity to create something where the talented people could be talented,”
Between your uncle’s daily bible quote and a friend’s relationship update lay acres of barren news feeds, waiting to be claimed. A24 moved to colonize all of them, setting up accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, and Pinterest. The firm reaped the benefits of low competition and seems to have continued to do so. According to one executive, A24’s marketing spend is “many multiples” better than other studios.
A24 products have a level of craft, personality, and specificity that stands apart. It’s this final quality that’s particularly notable. As one commenter noted, “The studio doesn’t just make a ‘high-school movie,’ it makes a ‘Catholic school in Sacramento in the spring of 2003 movie.’”
It seems obvious that Fenkel, Katz, and Company have drawn at least as much inspiration from Bernard Arnault as Walt Disney; this is a luxury playbook applied to modern media.
Beyond the storytelling opportunities sports afford, the chance to cozy up to another category of “creator” may be an enticement for A24. Athletes are increasingly recognized as content creators, owners of their personal IP. Michael Jordan is the canonical example of an athlete who recognizes this power, turning court abilities into a fashion empire, feature film appearances, and – decades later – a hit documentary about it all. While Jordan has effectively leveraged the narrative power of his story, scores of other exceptional athletes have not. Where are the miniseries about Messi, Federer, Biles, and Bolt? Increasingly, A24 will hope it can be the narrator for these superstars, turning their accomplishments into winning content.
Young artists looking to make their mark could do worse than snagging a spot in an episode of Euphoria. The more obvious play would be for A24 to lean into more projects like Stop Making Sense. As with athletes, musicians are IP creators – both in the literal and more abstract sense. In addition to interest in their songs and performances, audiences are intrigued by their life stories
Would A24 be able to resist a sweetheart deal from this kind of acquirer? Its willingness to engage in M&A discussion suggests at least some ambivalence about remaining an independent firm.
A24 is also used to working with lean budgets and taking risks. If any firm can find a way to leverage AI effectively, it’s likely to be the one that styles its culture on Silicon Valley’s darlings.
Properties of this magnitude would give A24 the chance to 10x the $140 million Everything Everywhere grossed. But it would also present key challenges. Earlier in this piece, we outlined how size often determines strategy. The smaller operator has options available to it that the larger one does not. Can A24 be A24 at ten times the size? Can it retain its singular voice when shepherding some Mattel monolith or Hasbro confection?
