Founded as an independent production company in 2012, A24 has established itself as one of the most stylistically unique studios by cultivating a new generation of arthouse and cult films. This has included some movies that have captured widespread attention, such as Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy, Alex Garland’s Ex Machina, Sean Baker’s The Florida Project, Ari Aster’s Midsommar, Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale, and more, spanning a wide range of genres.
This mass appeal, and the production and distribution of some of the most emotionally resonant and boundary-pushing movies of our time, have earned A24 huge acclaim. The studio produces roughly 20 movies annually, and sometimes, these have become major hits and have even dominated the global box office. Despite having almost 200 movies under its belt, these A24 movies, as well as being 10 of the studio’s highest-grossing, are also some of the company’s best work yet.
Moonlight Marks a Watershed Moment for A24, Earning $67 Million
Based on a semi-autobiographical play by Tarell Alvin McCraney, In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight explored three stages in the life of Chiron Harris (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes). The coming-of-age movie explores the difficulties Chiron faces as he comes to terms with his identity as a homosexual Black man and examines his relationships with his troubled mother, Paula (Naomie Harris), his father figure, Juan (Mahershala Ali), and his love interest, Kevin (Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome, and André Holland).
As well as being cited as one of the most important and culturally significant movies of the 2010s and grossing a total of $67 million at the global box office, Moonlight also took home several accolades. Moonlight marked an important milestone for A24, as it transformed the niche indie distributor into an Oscar-winning powerhouse. The film’s historic Academy Award win for Best Picture cemented A24’s reputation as a champion of bold, unconventional storytelling.
Lady Bird Defines A24’s Signature Strategy, Earning $79.4 Million
.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2)
Putting Greta Gerwig on the map as a visionary director, 2017’s Lady Bird followed Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), who handles romantic and familial relationships and societal expectations put on her as she makes the transition from high school senior to adulthood during the 2000s. The movie took home two Golden Globes and earned numerous other accolades, ultimately grossing a huge $79.4 million at the global box office on a budget of only $10 million.
Lady Bird was a massive turning point for A24 because it proved the indie distributor could produce commercially successful, mainstream cultural phenomena. Lady Bird was a darling during awards season and became an absolute cultural phenomenon, capturing the teen angst that defined the period beautifully and helping to establish Gerwig as one of the most prominent voices in modern cinema. This success solidified the studio’s signature risk-taking strategy.
Hereditary is a Modern Masterpiece of the Horror Genre, Earning $90.4 Million
While A24 has excelled at delivering high-quality, unique dramas and coming-of-age stories, the studio has also proven its salt in the horror genre. This really kicked off with the production and distribution of 2018’s Hereditary, a supernatural horror movie, written and directed by Ari Aster, that follows grieving artist Annie Graham (Toni Collette), who uncovers terrifying secrets about her family history after her mother’s death.
Produced for roughly $10 million, Hereditary managed to bring home $90.4 million at the global box office, transforming A24’s reputation from a niche distributor into an industry juggernaut. Hereditary also ushered in a new generation of elite, prestige horror that A24 and other movie studios have capitalized on. We likely wouldn’t have hits such as Weapons, Obsession, Iron Lung, and more if Hereditary hadn’t paved the way. The film has been lauded as a modern masterpiece.
Talk to Me’s Success Has Led to the Development of a Sequel, Earning $92.2 Million
Distributed by A24 in the United States, Australian supernatural horror Talk to Me marked the directorial debuts for twins Danny and Michael Philippou, so the movie’s $92.2 million gross is seriously impressive. Released in 2022, Talk to Me follows a group of teenagers who start to communicate with spirits via a mysterious embalmed hand, paying homage to horror movies of the past while also laying foundations for new stories.
The success of Talk to Me led to the filming of prequel short films and the development of a sequel feature, which will also be distributed by A24. This marked a successful transition from YouTube to bona fide filmmaking for the directing duo, a career trajectory that has now been copied by other filmmakers such as Curry Barker and Kane Parsons. Talk to Me continued the modernization of horror started by Hereditary, proving that A24 is one of the best in the game.
Materialists Marks Another Genre Deviation for A24, Earning $105.6 Million
After her striking debut with 2023’s Past Lives — another A24 movie — Celine Song delivered a thoughtful follow-up with 2025’s Materialists. Materialists proved Song was not a one-hit wonder and established her as one of the defining, bankable cinematic voices of her generation. The movie follows the stories of matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Johnson), her ex-boyfriend, John (Chris Evans), and wealthy financier Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal) as they navigate New York’s dating scene.
Where Materialists excelled was in its highly successful promotional tour, which showed that A24 knew how to market original, mid-budget films to the masses. The marketing pushed Materialists to gross a total of $105.6 million at the global box office, making it far more of a commercial success compared to its mixed response among critics and audiences. It delivered a mature deconstruction of the conventional rom-com, pushing A24 to try something new yet again.
Civil War Is the Perfect Marriage of Filmmaker & Studio, Earning $127.3 Million
With a budget of $50 million, Civil War was A24’s most expensive film at the time, so perhaps one of the studio’s biggest risks, but it certainly paid off. Clocking up a total of $127.3 million at the box office, Civil War, written and directed by Alex Garland, became one of the most successful movies of 2024 and proved that A24’s artistic brand could dominate the mainstream box office, opening the door for the studio to fund even more large-scale projects.
Civil War presented a war movie with a difference, as it followed a group of photojournalists who travel from New York City to Washington, D.C., to interview the President of the United States before rebel forces take the city during a fictional, modern-day civil war. Alex Garland is considered one of the greatest filmmakers of our time, and his long-standing relationship with A24 has given him time and resources to play in his experimental fields, making both infinitely better.
The Drama Became a Runaway Hit for A24 Back in 2026, Earning $130.8 Million
Starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as an engaged couple whose relationship is tested because of a shocking revelation in the week before their wedding, The Drama has become one of the studio’s most surprising runaway hits. With a $28 million budget, The Drama, written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, racked up $130.8 million at the box office and proved A24 could take major stars and place them in challenging, arthouse projects without losing mainstream appeal.
Once again, A24 excelled in the marketing for The Drama as it did in the lead-up to Materialists’ release. The studio framed the movie as a sweet, vintage wedding story, baiting the audience into an anxiety-inducing, controversial, and deeply uncomfortable moral debate. This allowed A24 to push boundaries and subvert audience expectations on a massive scale even before The Drama hit theaters, cementing the studio’s characteristic style and unique process.
Everything Everywhere All at Once Dominated Awards Season, Earning $147.9 Million
Talk about watershed moments for A24, Everything Everywhere All at Once dominated the cultural conversation, awards season, and box office climate following its release in March 2022. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once incorporates elements of surrealist comedy, sci-fi fantasy, martial arts, and innovative animation as it follows Evelyn Quan Wang (Michelle Yeoh), who embarks on a mission to save the multiverse while being audited by the IRS.
As one of the most narratively complex, thematically rich, and visually striking movies in recent memory, Everything Everywhere All at Once was a huge risk for A24. The risk paid off, however, clocking up a whopping $147.9 million at the global box office and earning the movie numerous accolades, among them seven — count them, seven — Academy Awards, including those specifically for Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan, the Daniels, and the award for Best Picture.
Marty Supreme Redefined the Studio & Audience Relationship, Earning $191.3 Million
Following Civil War, 2025’s Marty Supreme became A24’s most expensive movie to date, made on a budget of an estimated $70 million. The movie’s box office total of $191.3 million made up for it, however, allowing the Josh Safdie movie to, for several months, be lauded as A24’s highest-grossing flick ever. Marty Supreme stars Timothée Chalamet as aspiring table tennis champion Marty Mauser, backed up by an impressive cast including Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A’zion, Tyler Okonma, Fran Drescher, and more.
Marty Supreme received countless award nominations, and while it didn’t take home as many as the likes of Everything Everywhere All at Once, it still proved that A24 could launch Oscar-contending, original, record-breaking global blockbusters. Marty Supreme’s marketing marked another shift for A24, redefining how studios engage younger Gen Z audiences by building cultural moments before a movie’s debut. This made it the defining drama of the modern day, and one of A24’s best.
Backrooms Has Taken the World By Storm, Earning $213 Million (& Counting)
As one of A24’s most recent movies, released on May 29, 2026, Backrooms has quickly risen through the ranks to become the studio’s highest-grossing movie of all time. Made on a budget of only $10 million, Backrooms, directed by Kane Parsons, A24’s youngest director yet at only 20-years-old, has earned a whopping $213 million at the box office (as of June 7, 2026). This milestone is monumental for A24 and for the independent horror genre as a whole.
Inspired by the liminal space aesthetic, Backrooms is a continuation of Kane “Kane Pixels” Parsons’ series of short films posted on YouTube between 2022 and 2025. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Finn Bennett, and Lukita Maxwell explore the Backrooms in the A24 movie and come up against terrifying physical and psychological threats. Backrooms’ release has become a cultural phenomenon, yielding both critical acclaim and unprecedented audience turnout to make it the perfect example of A24’s unique ethics and ever-growing success.