A24: The New Big Dog in Horror
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Film studio A24 has been making big waves in the horror genre recently – to no one’s surprise. The studio has been around since 2012, starting as a distributor that focused on lesser-known movies that weren’t picked up by bigger studios. They broke through the mainstream with Spring Breakers (2012), which allowed them to grow exponentially, starting to focus on turning from distributor to studio. With a few big hitters under their belt like Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) and The Whale (2022) – which collectively earned 18 Oscars among their overall 49 nominations in 2023 – the studio is no stranger to making brilliant movies, and this is especially prevalent in their recent uptick of awesome horror movies.
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With movies like X (2022), Talk To Me (2023), Hereditary (2018), and Midsommar (2019), A24 has cemented its spot among horror legends such as Blumhouse, Ghost House Pictures, and Twisted Pictures. Though they’ve released countless award-winning movies and have been popular for a long time, A24 is gaining more recognition than ever with younger generations due to their plethora of recent horror movies. In 2019, Midsommar grossed about $48 million, X made $15 million, Hereditary made $44.1 million – the list goes on and on. And that’s only the monetary aspect of these movies’ success. A24 has become a household name, impacting our culture in a way that can’t be ignored. They’ve become a standalone seminal figure in the industry, making audiences see the movies they produce just because they’re A24 movies.
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But how did they do it? What A24 doesn’t want to forget is that, despite their success, they’re an indie studio that operates as such. With lower budgets, the studio aims to release 18-20 movies annually. This gives them a fair amount of wiggle room, allowing them to pursue creative and non-traditional options. Since they only need one or two blow-up successes per year, the money the successes make A24 gives them more opportunities to take risks and give their movie makers creative freedom.
This sets A24 apart from the rest in terms of recent popularity. In 2024, we’re seeing audiences exhausted by big movie studios and franchises. Seeing the same actors, same concepts, same jumpscares, and same useless gore doesn’t do it for everyone anymore. But A24 is changing the game in what constitutes horror. Want to see a pilgrim family getting haunted by a goat possessed by the devil? A24. How about a group of teens who slowly go insane during a hurricane party? A24. Or even two Mormons being trapped in a maze-like house, trying to get out? A24.
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A24 is a movie studio that refuses to be ignored, with multiple releases yearly and the sheer talent presented in every single film. The studio's impact on movie originality in the past few years cannot be dismissed as we witness a resurgence in the horror genre where boring films are out and weird-girl movies are in. A24 is not only changing horror culture but also the entire film industry in the best way possible.
Strike Out,
Author: Samantha Getchell
Editor: Grace Groover
Tallahassee