Alongside Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures, A24 has been one of the most interesting film production and distribution studios of the last couple years. Not all its films have been successful, but the company takes risks on compelling adult dramas and otherwise non-mainstream fare, films that may not traditionally find a home at many other studios with the ability to get them in front of wider audiences.
And while A24 has been busy building a name for itself, it has also been looking to expand its initiative, a goal the studio has seemingly achieved by way of a $50 million line of credit from Comerica and Union Bank of California. These institutions’ entertainment finance groups have provided capital for films such as Rush, End of Watch, and The Fighter, among others.
The move is a vote of confidence for the upstart studio, whose filmography includes a range of pictures and genres from the coming-of-age drama The Spectacular Now and the highly experimental Under the Skin, to the upcoming crime drama A Most Violent Year and the recently-acquired adult comedy-drama While We’re Young.
A24’s Matthew Bires stressed this credit facility was the “next logical step in the evolution of our business,” and Comerica’s Todd Steiner added, “A24 has quickly claimed a unique place in the marketplace and demonstrated the ability to repeatedly craft compelling distribution campaigns that are innovative on multiple levels.”
A24’s most successful films in its two-year history are Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers and Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring, which took home $32.2 million and $19.1 million, respectively, at the worldwide box office last year. Both are films I didn’t particularly care for, Spring Breakers in particular, but I’m glad each was given an opportunity to find an audience in today’s crowded cinematic landscape.
The studio has also seen its share of unsuccessful or marginally successful projects, from slow-burn thriller Enemy, to the single-location drama Locke, to the post-apocalyptic thriller The Rover. But without A24 acquiring each of these films — as well as abortion comedy Obvious Child, its highest-grossing movie so far this year — there’s a chance I’d never have seen them, a shame because they are among the most interesting movies to hit theaters this year.
Comerica and Union Bank are taking a gamble on A24, but I’m glad there are companies out there willing to take risks on interesting and experimental cinema, even if those films aren’t likely to set the box office fire. To that end, I’m going to mark this as a win for compelling cinema.
