A24 has emboldened itself with some incredibly successful films in the last decade, making for an impressive modern box office run few other cinematic brands can compete with. The independent entertainment company has become a trusted name in quality ever since its inception in 2012, taking chances on more bizarre, offbeat, or irreverent stories that bigger studios would be likely to overlook. From A24’s unique brand of horror movie to their genre-defining dramas, the production and distribution powerhouse has an impressive box office record.
When it comes to their most profitable ventures, around half of A24’s biggest winners are indeed horror movies, with the brand relating itself to scary films that go above and beyond simple campy jumpscares. Beyond that, there are several unique films many may not realize are under A24’s umbrella that have done the artistically-minded independent production company well in theaters. The franchise’s best-performing movies represent a good sample platter of what they have to offer.
10
Midsommar (2019)
$48 million
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23
6.7/10
Midsommar
R
Ari Aster’s Midsommar follows a group of American college students who travel to a friend’s isolated rural hometown in Sweden to experience their renowned midsummer festival. What starts out as idyllic quickly becomes a disconcertingly violent pagan ritual, with the friends engaged in a ruthless competition that will test more than just their friendship. Florence Pugh stars alongside Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, and William Jackson Harper.
Release Date
July 3, 2019
Runtime
147 minutes
Cast
Julia Ragnarsson
, Rebecka Johnston
, Henrik Norlén
, William Jackson Harper
, Gunnel Fred
, Anna Åström
, Will Poulter
, Archie Madekwe
, Louise Peterhoff
, Björn Andrésen
, Isabelle Grill
, Jack Reynor
, Florence Pugh
, Liv Mjönes
Director
Ari Aster
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One director that rose to fame off the back of his work with A24 is none other than the horror visionary Ari Aster. Hereditary may have been Ari Aster’s big break, but Midsommar proved that his success working with A24 was no fluke, able to think up more disturbing slow-burn horror films that rattle the mind. Midsommar tells the story of a grief-stricken young woman enduring the loss of her family to suicide who travels with her boyfriend to an isolated commune in rural Sweden to participate in their Midsommar festivities.
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Before long, the cult inhabiting the place sinks its hooks into Dani, gradually picking off her friends one by one as she is inducted into their almost eusocial way of life. Besides being one of Florence Pugh’s best performances, Midsommar explores the ravages of mourning with ghoulish imagery and a startling fairytale sense of dread. It’s no wonder the provocative film brings up the rear of A24’s biggest financial successes.
9
Uncut Gems (2019)
$50 million
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10/10
Uncut Gems
R
A crime thriller from Josh and Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems follows New York jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) as his gambling addiction forces him to associate with increasingly dangerous individuals. After receiving an incredibly rare black opal, Howard believes he can finally free himself of his mounting debts, but not without engaging in one final high-stakes balancing act while fending off violent loan sharks.
Release Date
December 13, 2019
Runtime
134 minutes
Cast
Jonathan Aranbayev
, Eric Bogosian
, The Weeknd
, Idina Menzel
, Noa Fisher
, Kevin Garnett
, Tommy Kominik
, LaKeith Stanfield
, Jacob Igielski
, Adam Sandler
, Julia Fox
, Keith Williams Richards
Director
Josh Safdie
, Benny Safdie
For the most part, Adam Sandler is beloved as a comedian that defined the childhoods of Millennials and the adult lives of Gen Xers worldwide, immortalized in the space for his silly voices and lighthearted movie fare. But there’s a genuinely brilliant side to Sandler’s acting ability that’s mined for all its rarity in Uncut Gems, perhaps A24’s ultimate drama.
Sandler is Howard Ratner, a lecherous jeweler with a dangerous addition to sports betting that owes money to some dangerous people. Uncut Gems is one of the most aggressively stressful films one can watch, as Sandler’s character digs himself deeper and deeper into debt sure that he’ll be able to settle the score with just one big payout.
Audiences were apparently eager to see Sandler prove himself as a legitimate actor, allowing the film to ascend the ranks of A24’s most lucrative hits.
Nuggets of irreverent comedy are baked into the very genuine tone of the film, with realistic dialogue flying over the pulsing soundtrack. Audiences were apparently eager to see Sandler prove himself as a legitimate actor, allowing the film to ascend the ranks of A24’s most lucrative hits.
8
The Zone Of Interest (2023)
$52 million
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9/10
The Zone of Interest
PG-13
The Zone of Interest is a historical war drama by writer-director Jonathan Glazer. Set during World War 2, the film follows Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, as he tries to build a dream home right next door to the camp.
Release Date
December 15, 2023
Runtime
105 Minutes
Cast
Christian Friedel
, Sandra Hüller
, Ralph Herforth
, Luis Noah Witte
, Johann Karthaus
Director
Jonathan Glazer
Though it might not be the most-talked about A24 film, The Zone of Interest has quietly risen through the ranks as one of the most valuable feathers in the company’s cap. The period piece war drama takes place amid the brutality of the holocaust, describing the life of a high-ranking German military officer and his family while living with the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp practically in their backyard. The film examines the psychological impact that genocide on such an industrial scale had not only on the victims, but the perpetrators as well.
The Zone of Interest absolutely ransacked the 96th Academy Awards, and for good reason. Its stark fly-on-the-wall shooting style and slice-of-life narrative set against the backdrop of such a despicable time of human cruelty puts into perspective what the reality carrying out of such a ghastly order was really like. While the film examines the psychological impact such crimes against humanity had on the perpetrators, it makes no mistake in acknowledging the complicity of Nazi leadership. It’s easy to see how the film did so well at the box office.
7
The Whale (2022)
$54 million
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6/10
6/10
The Whale
r
Directed by Darren Aronofsky, The Whale is based on a 2012 stage play of the same name by Samuel D. Hunter. The film star Brenden Fraser as Charlie, a reclusive and obese English teacher who, faced with his own mortality and guilt-ridden over his past, attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter Ellie, played by Sadie Sink. The film was part of Fraser’s comeback to acting and earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.
Release Date
December 9, 2022
Runtime
117 minutes
Cast
Brendan Fraser
, Sadie Sink
, Hong Chau
, Samantha Morton
, Ty Simpkins
Director
Darren Aronofsky
Another one of A24’s biggest box office winners is Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, which proved just how brilliant of a shapeshifting actor Brendan Fraser really is. The film posits Fraser as a morbidly obese English teacher with a troubled relationship with his daughter, trying to do better for her after abandoning her eight years prior.
As the health of Fraser’s Charlie rapidly declines, he attempts to explore the concept of honesty in every aspect of his life and failed relationships. The Whale is a brilliant, meditative, and cuttingly real character study that’s both shocking and somehow comforting, though some critics took issue with the script’s heavy-handed approach and depiction of obesity.
However, the consensus consistently places Brendan Fraser’s ability to disappear into the role as one of the strongest performances of 2022. It’s likely that the simple curiosity to see Fraser’s acting chops realized through layers of transformative prosthetics earned the movie its valuable box office take.
6
Moonlight (2016)
$65 million
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9/10
10/10
Moonlight
R
Written and directed by Barry Jenkins, Moonlight follows Chiron (Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex Hibbert) during three stages of his life, starting in childhood and progressing all the way up through adulthood. The film explores themes of identity and sexuality, chronicling Chiron’s life as a gay black man growing up in Miami to an abusive, drug-addicted mother.
Release Date
October 21, 2016
Runtime
111 Minutes
Cast
Janelle Monae
, Edson Jean
, Alex R. Hibbert
, Mahershala Ali
, Ashton Sanders
, Duan Sanderson
, Jaden Piner
, Shariff Earp
, Patrick Decile
, Naomie Harris
, Rudi Goblen
Director
Barry Jenkins
A24 certainly has a knack for producing grounded dramas that leave a deep, cutting impression on those that view them. Moonlight is yet another of A24’s Oscar Award darlings that rose to fame for winning the coveted Best Picture Academy Award for 2016’s cinematic landscape. Told in three distinct acts, the film follows the life of a gay African American boy named Chiron growing up in Miami at the peak of the crack epidemic, struggling with reconciling his multifaceted identity.
Moonlight is a beautiful coming-of-age story that tenderly and respectfully describes the difficulties of growing up as a gay man, particularly in the hypermasculine setting of a poverty-stricken Miami borough. As Chiron’s nickname changes from “Little” to “Black”, so too does his outlook on life and tragic sense of having missed out, unable to codify his romantic feelings or forgive his drug-dealing father figure. Taking chances on thoughtful films like Moonlight has given A24 no end of financial success.
5
Lady Bird (2017)
$78 million
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9/10
8.7/10
Lady Bird
R
Acting as Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut, Lady Bird stars Saoirse Ronan as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a high school senior who dreams of leaving what she sees as a miserable existence in Sacramento, California, and going to college on the East Coast. Lady Bird’s dreams clash with the overbearing wishes of her mother Marion, played by Laurie Metcalf. As Lady Bird faces the social and emotional challenges of her final year of high school, her relationship with her mother becomes more and more strained the harder she attempts to break free.
Release Date
November 10, 2017
Runtime
94 Minutes
Cast
Timothée Chalamet
, Lucas Hedges
, Odeya Rush
, Beanie Feldstein
, Tracy Letts
, Saoirse Ronan
, Laurie Metcalf
Director
Greta Gerwig
Speaking of coming-of-age movies, one of A24’s most valuable films is the archetypal story of a troubled girl’s adolescence, Lady Bird. The movie centers on a high school girl, who calls herself Lady Bird, and her strained relationship with her mother, yearning to go to an elite New England college on the opposite side of the country despite her family’s financial woes. As Lady Bird grows and learns, she comes to realize that even if her and her mother may butt heads, they do genuinely love one another.
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Lady Bird exploded in popularity upon its release, putting director Greta Gerwig’s name on the map. The poignant performances and true-to-life depiction of a complicated mother-daughter relationship brings to light a subject that is all-too-often skipped over in film. The film is also notable for being one of Timothée Chalamet’s earlier popular roles that flung him into becoming a household name.
4
Hereditary (2018)
$82 million
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7/10
12
7.3/10
Hereditary
R
The feature film debut of writer-director Ari Aster, Hereditary tells the story of the unwittingly cursed Graham family. Annie Graham (Toni Collette) lives with her husband Steve (Gabriel Byrne) and their children Peter (Alex Wolff) and Charlie (Milly Shapiro). After the death of Annie’s mother, the family is beset by disaster and stalked by a supernatural entity that dredges up a past that Annie had spent her life trying to overlook.
Release Date
June 8, 2018
Runtime
2h 7m
Cast
Toni Collette
, Milly Shapiro
, Zachary Arthur
, Gabriel Byrne
, Mallory Bechtel
, Alex Wolff
, Ann Dowd
Director
Ari Aster
While Midsommar may be a great follow-up, the breakout film Hereditary still remains Ari Aster’s strongest work. A horror movie unlike any other, Hereditary tells the story of a well-to-do family grappling with the death of a family matriarch, a grandmother that seemed to hold some devious secrets.
Hereditary isn’t just one of A24’s best movies, but arguably one of the greatest modern horror films of all time.
In the wake of her death, another tragedy soon befalls the rattled family, providing a foothold for a terrifying demonic presence and a secret conspiracy to slowly tear them apart. Hereditary isn’t just one of A24’s best movies, but arguably one of the greatest modern horror films of all time.
The insidious infection of dread and trauma that seeps its way into the unprepared family ramps up in intensity until the profane evil of the entity haunting them becomes too much to bear. Toni Colette’s performance is nothing short of genre-defining, and the rewatchability of Hereditary‘s hidden details that only make sense on a second viewing likely helped propel it to such a lofty spot in A24’s financial successes.
3
Talk To Me (2022)
$92 million
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7/10
8.5/10
Talk to Me
R
While trying to cope with the death of her mother, Mia (Sophie Wilde) becomes enthralled with an embalmed hand that can conjure spirits. While Mia and her group of friends get a thrill out of communicating with spirits, things go too far when Mia doesn’t close the door to the other side.
Release Date
July 28, 2023
Runtime
94 minutes
Cast
Sophie Wilde
, Joe Bird
, Alexandra Jensen
, Otis Dhanji
, Miranda Otto
, Marcus Johnson
Director
Danny Philippou
, Michael Philippou
Horror continues to be a winning genre for A24, proven as recently as 2023 with Talk To Me. The Australia-produced movie centers on a young girl in the throes of grief after the death of her mother who comes across a friend group with an unusual pastime. Thanks to an embalmed hand, the young kids are able to allow themselves to be possessed by spirits from beyond the grave.
Before long, the troubled Mia is abusing the hand’s power in hopes of contacting her dead mother. Talk To Me provides a chilling medium for glimpsing into the depraved worlds of trauma and drug addiction, using the dangers of its titular supernatural game to serve as a stand-in for many real-life perils.
The entire cast turns in some amazing dual performances as their base characters and the spirits who possess them, culminating in one of the most terrifying depictions of the afterlife ever put to screen. Talk To Me is an overall more accessible horror movie that paid A24 dividends at the box office.
2
Civil War (2024)
$126 million
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7/10
26
7/10
Civil War
R
Civil War is a 2024 action thriller from writer and director Alex Garland. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Civil War takes place in the near future and shows the United States entering a new Civil War after California and Texas attempt to separate from the country.
Release Date
April 12, 2024
Runtime
109 Minutes
Cast
Kirsten Dunst
, Wagner Moura
, Cailee Spaeny
, Stephen McKinley Henderson
, Nelson Lee
, Nick Offerman
, Jefferson White
, Evan Lai
, Vince Pisani
, Justin James Boykin
, Jess Matney
, Greg Hill
, Edmund Donovan
, Sonoya Mizuno
, Tim James
, Simeon Freeman
, James Yaegashi
, Dean Grimes
, Alexa Mansour
, Martha B. Knighton
, Melissa Saint-Amand
, Karl Glusman
, Jin Ha
Director
Alex Garland
Expand
Finally allowing A24 to breach the annals of returns in the triple-million digits is a movie from Alex Garland, a previously successful A24 director that put out hits for the company like Ex Machina. The film takes place in an alternate history in which the United States has become engulfed in civil war once again, with a despotic federal government clashing with several new secessionist states. The action follows a team of wartime journalists who attempt to make a trip from New York to Washington, D.C. to interview the president before he’s possibly overthrown.
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In a modern age in which the United States seems more divided than ever, it’s no wonder that Civil War received so much attention. Besides the premise piquing the curiosity of many moviegoers, the acclaimed performances and grim vision for the future Garland presents drew critical commendation. Civil War might be so compelling because it feels startlingly possible.
1
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
$143 million
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8/10
12
9.5/10
Everything Everywhere All at Once
R
In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to support her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
Release Date
March 25, 2022
Runtime
132 minutes
Cast
Jenny Slate
, Ke Huy Quan
, Stephanie Hsu
, Harry Shum Jr.
, Jamie Lee Curtis
, James Hong
, Michelle Yeoh
Director
Daniel Kwan
, Daniel Scheinert
A24’s most successful movie to-date, Everything Everywhere All At Once more than earns both its critical accolades and its box office success. The brilliant and innovative martial arts science fiction movie follows an older woman named Evelyn. Between her daughter wanting to come out to her traditional grandfather, her husband wanting a divorce, and the financial troubles of her business, Evelyn’s life isn’t going great. Things go from bad to bizarre when Evelyn is made privy to a multiversal war, thrown into the midst of absurd action.
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
It’s a rare movie like Everything Everywhere All At Once that can claim to truly “have it all”, from hilarious slapstick comedy to thrilling fist fights and genuinely devastating emotional bombs. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan both put in the performances of their career as the floundering married couple, helping the film to sweep the Academy Awards. An instant classic, Everything Everywhere All At Once remains A24’s crowning achievement.