A24 (company)

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A24 is an American independent entertainment company founded on August 20, 2012, by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges and based in New York City. It specializes in film production, television production and distribution.

Katz, Fenkel and Hodges prior to A24 worked in film and production, before leaving to pursue the company, which was originally A24 Films. Moderately starting out in 2013 with A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, the company's growth started with the release of Spring Breakers later that year. Their existence became well-known with Ex Machina, Room, and The Witch, and has grown substantially since then. They entered into deals with DirecTV Cinema and Amazon Prime later in 2013, with some films distributed through them, and the name was shortened to A24 in 2016.

As of 2018, A24 has received a total of twenty-four Academy Award nominations. In 2016, A24's films won Academy Awards for Best Actress (Brie Larson in Room), Best Documentary Feature (Amy), and Best Visual Effects (Ex Machina). In 2017, their production Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture (the first such award for the company), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali). A24's television division released The Carmichael Show.

Video A24 (company)

History

Founding and early years

A24 was founded on August 20, 2012, by film veterans Daniel Katz, David Fenkel, and John Hodges. The name is a reference to Highway 24, a road usually traveled by founders. Katz formerly led the film finance group at Guggenheim Partners, Fenkel was the president, co-founder and partner at Oscilloscope, and Hodges served as Head of Production and Development at Big Beach.

Guggenheim Partners provided the seed money for A24. The company was started for the founders to experience the company's "movies from a distinctive point of view". In October 2012, Nicolette Aizenberg joined A24 as head of publicity, carrying over from 42West where she was senior publicity executive.

The company began in 2013. The company marked its first theatrical release with Roman Coppola's A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, which had a limited release. Other 2013 theatrical releases included Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, and James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now.

In September 2013, A24 entered a $40 million deal with DirecTV Cinema, where DirecTV Cinema would offer day-and-date releases 30 days prior to a theatrical release by A24; Enemy was the first to be distributed effectively. That same year, A24 entered a deal with Amazon Prime, where A24-distributed films would be available on Amazon Instant Video after becoming available on DVD and Blu-ray.

2014-present: Television and later productions

In May 2015, A24 announced that it would start a television division and began producing the USA Network series Playing House, as well as working to develop a television series that would later become Comrade Detective, produced by Channing Tatum. The company also announced that they would also finance and develop pilots.

In January 2016, Sasha Lloyd joined the company to handle all film, television distribution and business development in the international marketplace. The company, with cooperation from Bank of America, J.P. Morgan & Co. and SunTrust Banks, also raised its line of credit from $50 million to $125 million a month later to build upon its operations. In April, the company acquired all foreign rights to Swiss Army Man, distributing the film in all territories, and partnering with distributors who previously acquired rights to the film, a first for the company. In June, the company, along with Oscilloscope and distributor Honora, joined BitTorrent Now to distribute the work of their portfolio across the ad-supported service.

In January 2017, the company acquired the United States and Chinese distribution rights for their first foreign language film, Menashe.