A24 goes from film distributor to lifestyle brand

If you’re a cinephile like me, you’ve heard of A24 films.

The NYC-based entertainment distribution company has claimed a meteoric rise to fame over the last 5 years. This is despite operating in some of the most anxious and uncertain times of the modern film industry.

Through an unending list of high-profile releases, A24 has done well to fill the visible void in the indie film market.

However, I do always wonder, how the hell did a distribution company get this cool? It’s unusual that a company of its kind would even garner this much attention, let alone notoriety.

Distributors have always used marketing to drive awareness of films. That’s how they make the business profitable. Traditionally, they market the films, not themselves. This renders the brand name irrelevant (with the exception of Disney.)

So the awareness that A24 has managed to achieve is astounding. In fact, it’s common for those who don’t even consider themselves cinephiles to still claim (though paradoxical) 'I just love A24 films.'

The distributor-turned-studio transformed what would be a silent role in the industry into a lifestyle brand. How? By tapping into their audience with both clever marketing and powerful positioning.

A24 are tastemakers.

In the beginning (2012), the company had to rely on their taste as marketers, since they weren’t making their own movies. They would acquire films, and then distribute them.

Their talent lies in the films they pick. They had an eye for those key moments that would eventuate into repurposed content like GIFS, memes, Tumblr blog posts and phone screensavers.

Vulture uses Swiss Army Man as an example of one of these films. 'A movie that other studios might have been scared off by, because it’s a movie about a farting corpse – played by Harry Potter. [A24] realised that, in the era of the internet, a movie about a farting corpse sells itself.'

Their understanding of internet culture, fandom, and customer acquisition has allowed A24 to thrive in a notoriously challenging industry. And mastering social media has been critical to their success.

A24 is a company that understands how to capture and capitalise on attention, and their marketing strategies are testament to that.

When releasing Ex Machina in 2015, A24 made a fake Tinder chatbot to help plug the film. If you used the dating app in Austin, Texas during SXSW that year, they may have catfished you.

People recall matching with a woman named Ava, whose profile claimed she was a 25-year-old from NY. However, it soon became clear that Ava wasn’t who she claimed to be. She kept directing people to an Instagram page promoting Ex Machina, a science-fiction movie about an AI robot so lifelike that it passes for a human named (you guessed it) Ava.

In Ari Arister’s Hereditary, Toni Collette’s character is freakishly obsessed with building tiny models of the world around her. A major element of the film is creepy yet well-placed dolls in the mise en scène. Responsible for the distribution, A24 sent creepy dolls to various audience members after certain screenings of the film's release.

As a part of the campaign for The Witch, the company made Twitter accounts for some of the characters, including a satanic goat.

While Hollywood’s major studios have spent the last decade pumping out superhero vehicles, A24 has embraced creative risk.

In 2022, the company released a film about a middle-aged, Chinese-American woman who runs a laundromat.

On a budget of $25 million, Everything Everywhere All At Once ended up surpassing $140 million at the box office. The film also scooped up seven Academy Awards in the process.

Uncut Gems, Midsommar, Lady Bird, Moonlight, the Ti West trilogy – these are just a few of the incredible pieces of work we have A24 to thank for. They have provided a way for mainstream culture to become invested in independent film.

This is what makes them equally as important as they are awesome. A24 have earned critical respect and have accumulated an insane amount of cultural power. They're celebrated for their weirdness, distinctiveness and craft.

A24’s success stands as a beacon to the weird and wonderful.

It proves taking creative risks and choosing the path less taken can be a great way to resonate with modern audiences and stand out in an oversaturated industry.

As marketers, this should inspire us to look for gaps in our industries where unique and underserved content can thrive. Then give our work the potential to outshine brands that aren't brave enough to try something new.

-Sophie, Writer