If you’ve been to the movies in the past 10 years, you may have noticed this distinctive logo appear as the lights begin to dim.
Most likely, you’re about to watch something unique, quirky, or outright bizarre.
A24 is an independent film studio and distribution company founded in New York, NY in 2012, and is responsible for making you confused during The Lighthouse and physically stressed during Uncut Gems.
In all seriousness, A24 has garnered 21 Oscars in their 13 years of existence for critical darlings like Moonlight, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and The Brutalist. They’re known for launching the careers of directors like Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, and Sean Baker, and partnering with the Safdie brothers, Alex Garland, and Trey Edward Shults.
What makes A24 special is its commitment to artistic vision over commercialism. The company values creativity above all else, leading to their filmography of genre-defying stories that explore complex and often unconventional themes.
Their auteur-driven approach, combined with a distinct brand identity, has transformed A24 from a production company into a cinematic cultural touchstone. They successfully built a cult-like following by using innovative, low-cost marketing tactics that appeal to their audience, turning their brand into a signal of quality and uniqueness.
What Is A24’s Target Audience?
Before we delve into why A24 is so successful, we need to understand who they’re marketing to.
A24 isn’t marketing its brand and films like Disney is, because its audience is an entirely different demographic. You probably won’t catch A24 fans watching the latest Marvel release, because their viewers are looking for something different, and the studio knows that.
The “Chronically Online” Millennials & Gen Zers
A24’s primary demographic is digitally native, media-savvy, and values authenticity. This audience is fatigued by over-produced, traditional Hollywood blockbusters and seeks out narratives that feel real and personal. In a world where people are asking, “Why is everything nowadays a reboot or sequel?” A24 is heeding the call.
A24 is also active on platforms like Letterboxd, Reddit, and TikTok, where their target demographic virtually lives. The company understands that this audience is a key part of the marketing flywheel, eager to share salient content that resonates with them emotionally; like the director of Sorry, Baby, clarifying to TikTok users that the cat doesn’t die during her film.
The Cult of the Cinephile
A24 appeals to film buffs and critics who appreciate auteur-driven filmmaking and deep thematic content. This audience is often a key driver of the word-of-mouth marketing that fuels the buzz for their films.
This key demographic views the A24 brand as a promise that they’ll be watching something thoughtfully made, visually distinct, and intellectually challenging. The studio’s commitment to diverse voices and unconventional storytelling aligns perfectly with the cinephile’s search for cinema that pushes boundaries.
The Arthouse Crowd
A24’s content and distribution model also targets audiences who frequent independent theaters and film festivals. These viewers are more open to challenging, non-traditional narratives and appreciate the artistic risks that the studio is known for taking.
By strategically premiering their films at festivals like Cannes and Sundance, A24 establishes a viewer presence before a film even hits wider distribution. This approach validates their projects in the eyes of the arthouse community, building hype among a dedicated segment of film lovers.
How A24 Has Built Community
A24 has gone beyond simply attracting a “film bro” audience; they have cultivated a devoted community. They understand that modern consumers crave a sense of belonging and exclusivity, and they’ve achieved this by creating an ecosystem around their brand that extends far beyond its films.
Their AAA24 membership club, for instance, offers a range of exclusive perks like a welcome pack, quarterly zines, birthday gifts, and early access to limited-edition merchandise drops; all with the goal of turning their fans into active participants. By creating a “members-only” hub for their community, A24 fosters a sense of shared identity among its fans, who proudly display their merchandise as a signal of their “in-the-know” status.
What Is A24’s Marketing Strategy?
Instead of one-size-fits-all, multi-million dollar campaigns that studios like Universal and Paramount use, A24 opts for a highly targeted, film-specific approach that leverages authenticity and creativity over sheer financial might.
1. The Anti-Hollywood Approach
Major studios spend a staggering amount of money on their promotional cycles: expensive television spots, celebrity talk show appearances, and giant billboards. A24 intentionally sidesteps this, often spending far less on marketing. They recognized that this traditional model doesn’t resonate with their core audience, which is a key part of their marketing success.
By avoiding the noise of conventional advertising, A24 creates a sense of intrigue and exclusivity around its projects.
2. The Power of Curation
A key pillar of A24’s success is its highly selective and curatorial approach to what it chooses to produce and distribute. Unlike major studios that greenlight dozens of projects each year in hopes of launching even just one blockbuster, A24 carefully selects its films in search of those with distinctive points of view.
Since A24 has a much smaller budget to work with than larger studios, it’s imperative that they select only the best of the best.
Their careful vetting process is what has turned the A24 logo from a production company identifier into a stamp of quality. When a film buff sees their logo, they have an immediate understanding of what to expect: a unique narrative, a singular directorial vision, and a film that is guaranteed to generate conversation. This level of brand trust has built fierce loyalty, where a significant portion of their audience will buy tickets to a new film simply because A24 was involved in it.
In short, their model is built on the concept of “taste,” proving that in an industry of mass-produced blockbusters, a carefully curated slate of films can create a powerful and loyal community.
3. The “Content As The Marketing” Model
A24 understands that a truly remarkable film is its own best advertisement. By giving filmmakers creative freedom, A24 consistently produces movies with memorable and often meme-able moments, from the quotable monologue by Toni Collette in Hereditary, to the tongue-in-cheek spelling and grammar mistakes of Eddington sheriff Joe Cross.
These iconic scenes, images, and characters are then organically shared and discussed across social media, driving word-of-mouth chatter that money can’t buy. The content itself becomes the conversation, making their marketing feel less like a sales pitch and more like a cultural discussion that people want to partake in.
4. Merchandise as an Extension of Its Films
A24 has masterfully turned its merchandise into long-standing marketing tools. Instead of churning out generic tees with movie logos, the studio creates limited-edition products that are direct extensions of the films themselves; and it’s proven over and over again to be an effective strategy for community building and deepening fan connection to a film.
For example, they sold a replica of the “Bear in a Cage” from the horror film Midsommar, and the hot dog finger gloves from the surrealist hit Everything Everywhere All At Once. These items aren’t just collectibles; they’re inside jokes that allow fans to showcase their appreciation for the company’s filmography.
A24 is also probably one of the only (if not the only) film studios that can not only get away with releasing merchandise with its logo on it, but actually find success in doing so. Usually tied into their films in some way, their T-shirts, caps, socks, and more (all adorned with the A24 logo) are minimalist and subtle, making fans feel like they’re part of an exclusive club rather than walking promotions.
5. Embracing the Unconventional Through Innovative Campaigns
The Ex Machina Tinder Bot
In one of their campaigns, A24 leveraged the tech-centric audience at the SXSW festival to promote the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina. They created a fake Tinder profile for “Ava,” the AI robot from the movie. Festival attendees who matched with Ava on Tinder engaged in a conversation with her that explored philosophical themes of humanity and AI.
The bot would eventually reveal itself and direct users to the film’s promotional materials. This low-cost stunt was perfectly aligned with the film’s subject matter, creating a viral moment that earned press and perfectly targeted the tech-savvy, early-adopter audience.
The Uncut Gems Pop-Up Shop
For their high-stakes thriller Uncut Gems, A24 created an immersive, real-world experience. To promote the film, they opened a temporary jewelry store in the heart of New York City’s Diamond District, designed to look and feel exactly like the fictional “KMH Gems & Jewelry” store from the film. It featured movie props, exclusive merchandise, and even the iconic bedazzled Furbies from the film. This immersive atmosphere allowed fans to step into the film’s world, positioning it as a cultural moment to be a part of.
The Witch’s “Black Phillip”
A24’s social media campaigns often lean into the edgy and unconventional. For the folk-horror film The Witch, they created an X account for the satanic goat character, Black Phillip. The account posted cheeky, in-character tweets and engaged with users, building anticipation and a sense of shared, insider knowledge among fans.
In another bold move, A24 even partnered with the Satanic Temple for an endorsement. These clever marketing tactics earned the film media attention by embracing its provocative nature.
The Materialists NYSE Matchmaking Platform
For the new Celine Song film Materialists, A24 launched a creative campaign that blurred the lines between the film’s plot and reality. The movie centers on a transactional matchmaking service, so A24 created a website, menofny.com, where users could input their personal “stats” to determine their “romantic value”.
This data was then displayed on a live ticker at the New York Stock Exchange, a brilliant move that mirrored the film’s themes and generated online buzz.
Case Study: Midsommar
After Ari Aster released his acclaimed horror movie Hereditary in 2018, audiences were wondering what he was gonna do next. A24 most likely anticipated the success of Hereditary, having lined up another project from Aster to be released a year later: Midsommar.
In March 2019, A24 dropped a teaser trailer announcing Midsommar, which quickly sparked interest within the film community. The teaser didn’t reveal too much, instead allowing the film’s visual aesthetic (a horror movie set in broad daylight) take center stage.
In the meantime, A24 created a dedicated Midsommar Instagram account, posting minimally, not wanting to give too much away. These posts included the film’s initial and final posters, along with a video from Aster discussing the similarities between Midsommar and Hereditary, attempting to create a connection between these two cultural entities. They also dropped a flower crown Snapchat filter, appealing to the aesthetics of the average festival-going Millennial.
At this point, you might be wondering: what’s so special about this campaign? The thing is, we haven’t even gotten to the core of it yet. Instead of dropping the movie and forgetting about it, A24 continued to market the film in the months after its release.
First, talk of a director’s cut started swirling around shortly after the film’s release in early July 2019, touting the gruesome scenes that didn’t make it into the final cut of the film. That same summer, it was released.
Then, the marketing team for the film capitalized on the most iconic visuals and elements of the film by anticipating what they would be before the film was released. This can be seen with their promotional “Bear in a Cage” toy that dropped the same day the film did.
But even that wasn’t the end of it.
They took it a step further in September 2019 by partnering with Talkspace to give away free couples therapy to three couples, who could win by commenting on the post. This was a way to continue riffing on the relationship woes between the film’s two main characters.
We’re not done yet; that Halloween, they reposted photos of people wearing Midsommar costumes to their Instagram stories.
A full year after the film’s release, A24 auctioned off the iconic flower dress from the film’s final scenes along with other material from its films, which drew the hype not just from regular A24-heads, but celebrities, too; both Ariana Grande and Halsey wanted to get in on the action.
As demonstrated, A24’s campaign for Midsommar wasn’t about inundating audiences with information about the film leading up to its release. Instead, they opted for a more subtle strategy before its release, choosing to build on the momentum that they anticipated the film would generate. By doing this, they created a pop cultural phenomenon and a box office success; As of 2024, the film made just under $40 million against a $9 million budget.
What Is A24’s Business Model?
To understand if the A24 strategy is right for your brand, let’s dive into their business model. Fair warning, though: A24’s business model is as unconventional as its films, strategically designed to prioritize artistic integrity while maintaining financial viability. It takes a very specific brand with an even more specific approach to pull it off.
From Distribution to Production
The first key aspect is A24’s evolution from distribution to production. A24 began by acquiring and distributing independent films from festivals, which allowed them to establish their brand and gain a reputation for being “tastemakers” without taking on the financial risk of producing films.
With the success of films like Moonlight, they were able to transition into a full-fledged production studio. This shift gave them greater creative control over their projects, and allowed them to champion the creative visions of filmmakers from the film’s inception.
Low-Budget, High-Impact
A24’s financial model is built on low-budget films that maximize impact. They typically finance projects with a modest budget, usually averaging around $15 million to $20 million.
If that sounds like a lot of money to you, let’s make a comparison: the most recent Jurassic World movie, released by Universal Pictures, had a reported budget of $180 million.
All in all, A24’s strategic frugality minimizes risk. Even if a film doesn’t become a massive box office hit, it can still turn a profit or break even through a combination of theatrical revenue, VOD sales, and streaming deals. The model only requires one or two major critical or commercial successes per year to offset the costs of their entire slate, a stark contrast to the high-stakes approach of marketing for Hollywood blockbusters.
Expansion Into Other Media
Finally, A24 has successfully achieved diversification into other media to future-proof its business. They have gone beyond the big screen to produce and distribute television series like Euphoria and Beef, which generate consistent revenue streams and introduce their brand to new audiences.
In addition, their online A24 Shop, books, and zines serve as a direct-to-consumer revenue source, demonstrating that their creative output is not limited to film.
What Marketers Can Learn From A24
A24’s journey from indie upstart to cultural juggernaut can teach us a lot about marketing, and not just for the film industry. By prioritizing brand, community, and quirkiness over conventional advertising, A24 operates on an actionable strategy that other companies can adopt to stand out in a crowded market.
Lead With Authenticity, Not Budgets
A24 proves you don’t need a million-dollar budget to launch a successful campaign. Instead, they choose to produce and distribute highly original projects and let that do the talking. Their campaigns are often low-cost but contextual and interactive, designed to feel less like a sales pitch and more like a discovery.
The Takeaway: This approach generates earned media and organic word-of-mouth, demonstrating that authentic, compelling content is the most powerful marketing tool a brand can have.
Build a Brand, Not Just a Product
A24 doesn’t just take whatever scripts, ideas, or films come their way, as they’ve built a powerful brand identity because of their curatorial nature. The recognizable A24 logo has become a symbol of a distinctive cinematic experience, fostering trust and loyalty within its audience.
The Takeaway: Marketers should strive to turn their company into a brand with a distinct ethos, one that customers feel a connection to and want to be a part of, transforming consumers into brand advocates who willingly do the marketing for you.
Community Is Your Strongest Asset
A24 has successfully transformed its audience into a passionate, self-sustaining community by building an ecosystem around its brand that extends the cinematic experience beyond the screen. Through their membership club, AAA24, which provides its members with early access and exclusive content, and their A24 Shop, they create a sense of belonging and exclusivity.
The Takeaway: A loyal community can be one of your strongest assets, with the ability to generate word-of-mouth and social media amplification (if you weaponize it correctly).
Embrace Unconventional & Interactive Tactics, if Relevant
A24’s campaigns (and films) are memorable because they are unconventional and interactive. From a faux black market occult website tied into Bring Her Back, to the fake missing persons poster that they planted in the Salt Lake City airport for Heretic, their clever tactics allow people to interact with their films directly.
The Takeaway: Creative, contextual campaigns are far more effective at sparking interest than formulaic ads.
The Art of Nostalgia & “IYKYK” Marketing
A24 often taps into a shared cultural consciousness, particularly with its Millennial and Gen Z audience. Their campaigns for films like Y2K or merchandise for I Saw the TV Glow reference a niche aesthetic rooted in nostalgia, provoking an “If You Know, You Know” (IYKYK) feeling among its audience.
The Takeaway: Understand the niche nostalgic references that appeal to your target audience, and incorporate them cleverly into what you’re selling to spark widespread cultural connection.
The Future of A24’s Strategy
A24’s rise to prominence proves that a distinct brand identity and a deep connection with a niche audience can be more powerful than a massive budget and appealing to the masses. By prioritizing creativity, a curatorial approach, and authentic community building, the studio has transformed from a small indie distributor into a cinematic cultural touchstone. Their marketing is not about selling a product; it’s about inviting an audience to be part of a creative movement they genuinely want to be a part of.
