A24 Joins the Oscar Crowd
Friday, January 15, 2016 at 9:00PM Chris here to celebrate our favorite indie distributor. A24 has been steadily been building their reputation since launching about 3 years ago, and yesterday they finally landed their first Oscar nominations. They've previously housed longshot candidates like Spring Breakers and A Most Violent Year, but this year saw three of their films break through: Room, Ex Machina, and Amy.
A24 started 2015 proving that they could compete with the larger indie outfits by delivering at the box office. Ex Machina was a surprise hit and became their highest grosser, with Amy and Noah Baumbach's While We're Young also breaking out. Room could pass all of them with the help of its four major nominations and The Witch looks primed to be late-winter mini-hit, as well.
The nominations feel richly earned, given that they've fostered worthy candidates like Under the Skin, The Spectacular Now, and A Most Violent Year that eluded the awards race. Their "Consider This Sh*t" campaign for James Franco's bonkers performance in Spring Breakers may not have paid off, but they are now firmly in the Oscar fray.
They've been playing their seven nominations very modestly, true to their understated form showcased in the David Ehrlich profile on them (essential reading if you haven't read already). Hopefully they're enjoying the Oscar news with a well-deserved Ex Machina dance party. Cheers!
A24, Amy, Ex Machina, Oscars (15), Room
Reader Comments (10)
Yes, but totally stumbled with Jacob Tremblay's chances.
And how great that the studio celebrates each film with images of their leading females!
Seeing the A24 logo onscreen before a trailer automatically makes me want to see the movie.
Just saw Amy on the big screen. So soon after the death of Bowie (who was able to survive his own early stardom), this was very hard to watch. And hard to look away. A flawed, potent film about a flawed, potent artist.
Raul -- me too. The last time i remember feeling that way was the Miramax logo in the super early days.
I never get tired of watching Oscar Isaac dance.
My indie theater has recently been getting all the A24 releases. I love it, they've had some great ones out this year.
I have not heard much about A24, but as I have both Room and Ex Machina in my top 5 movies of 2015 and still think Spring Breakers is the greatest American movie since Tree Of Life I should definitely pay more attention...
Congratulations to A24, my current favorite indie distributor. They have impeccable taste in picking up projects. Happy to see their awards game getting better because they botched A MOST VIOLENT YEAR so very badly last year. Wish Room find better success at boxoffice.
Jija, I totally agree with you about A24's campaign for A Most Violent Year--it reeked of ineptitude at every turn. "Let's release a tiny indie from a fledgling director with no big stars at the very end of the year. It will definitely be a priority for voters with all of the other awards films out at the same time."
I think that experience was a big lesson for them, because they've done a 180 this year.