Studio A24 has earned credibility with a string of highly successful films, made recognizable by what fans call ‘A24 vibes’ – their special brand of visual style, quirky tone, and creative expression. Just a decade ago, this small, indie studio took some big risks on unknown writer-directors that made a big impression. Today their films can rival tent-pole productions, with cinephiles keeping a keen eye on the A24 calendar.
Viewers looking for slick, thought-provoking, unusual films do well to check for the A24 logo. Though known for breathing new life into the horror genre, A24 is the studio behind a wide spectrum of films. It is the cool kid among film studios, and its fans are particularly cult-like in their admiration. HBO Max has shrewdly picked up on this trend and hosts a large swath of their film catalog. A recent update has added more A24 movies on HBO Max that are particularly worth checking out.
10
‘We Live in Time’ (2024)
We Live in Time takes all the inherent passion and comfort of a classic love story and, through a non-chronological mixture of events and some powerful tearjerker moments, leaves a massive impact with its story of true love. The film follows lovebirds Tobias Durand (Andrew Garfield) and Almut Bruhl (Florence Pugh), whose lives are forever changed when their chance encounter sets in motion a decade-spanning journey of love, pain, and romance.
The nonlinear approach to the storytelling of We Live in Time is truly what makes the film special, as it keeps information both hidden and out in the open to allow for maximum dramatic and emotional impact. It also certainly helps that Garfield and Pugh have a palpable chemistry with one another, with feelings of romance and the wild emotions of love exuding off of the screen during both their best and worst moments. While A24 is rarely known for their romance films, We Live in Time is easily among their best and perfectly aligns with their notions of experimental and groundbreaking cinema.
9
‘Sorry, Baby’ (2025)
A beautiful yet heartbreaking look at the difficulties and pains of young adulthood from Eva Victor, Sorry, Baby is a story defined by its portrayal of raw, human experiences and growth, even at their most painful and confusing moments. The film sees Victor as a young professor working at the same college she attended and living in the same house she lived in as a graduate student. However, due to a painful event as a student that has lingered in her mind, she feels stuck and unable to truly progress and have a normal adulthood.
Sorry, Baby is exceptionally intelligent with its portrayal of darker and uncomfortable subject matter, never glorifying the pain or going all out with a depiction, yet still reeling in the pain and ramifications of what has occurred. Through Victor’s exceptional lead performance and an array of memorable supporting performances, the film does wonders in terms of hitting the audience right where it hurts the most for its poignant story of the difficulties of life.
8
‘A Different Man’ (2024)
A dynamic and hilarious black comedy satire about one’s personal perception of their looks versus the truth of how they are perceived and viewed by others, A Different Man is a one-of-a-kind psychological thriller comedy experience. The film sees Sebastian Stan as Edward, an aspiring actor with neurofibromatosis who believes that his facial condition is holding back his prospects in life. After getting an experimental surgery to cure his condition, he abandons his old name and life to begin anew, only to get a sense of regret when Oswald (Adam Pearson), another man with neurofibromatosis, seems to be living his perfect life.
A Different Man is exceptional in being able to balance comedy and self-reflective themes of perception together to make for a compelling, unpredictable experience. Each subsequent twist and element to the branching story and chaos of Edward’s life manages to make the overall experience both more hilarious and more intricate in its scope and scale. Everyone also gives a standout performance in the film, with Pearson especially stealing the show with his endlessly likable and charming portrayal of Oswald.
7
‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ (2025)
Rarely has a film been able to balance overwhelming dread and tension with exceptional dark comedy as seen in Mary Bronstein‘s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. This wild story of the difficulties of motherhood sees Rose Byrne as Linda, a mother on the verge of her absolute breaking point. She faces all sorts of chaos between the mysterious illness of her daughter, her husband being absent at sea, the difficulties of her therapist job, and a giant hole in her home forcing her and her daughter to live in a motel.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You acts as this ever-increasing spiral of chaos and anxiety-fueled destruction, with each wrinkle only proving to make the overarching experience that much more painful and hilarious to experience. However, the film never loses its emotional side even with the more lighthearted comedic tone that it takes, sticking to its central themes and sporting a masterfully layered lead performance from Byrne.
6
‘The Lighthouse’ (2019)
Easily one of the most beautiful and visually distinct modern films, Robert Eggers proves that black-and-white filmmaking is far from dead with The Lighthouse. The film follows a simple yet effective premise, seeing two 1890s lighthouse keepers stuck on a lone island with only themselves to keep each other company and sane. It doesn’t take long before the duo begins to lose their sanity, questioning everything that happens around them.
Eggers makes the most out of the black-and-white aesthetic and 1.19:1 aspect ratio to create an otherworldly experience that could only be described as psychedelic. This goes hand in hand with the film’s intentionally confusing story, as the characters have a multitude of disturbing visions, false memories, and massive leaps of faith as to the true nature of the lighthouse. The film wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does without the duo of Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, whose performances are multi-faceted and allow audiences to come to a near-infinite number of conclusions as to the film’s true meaning.
5
‘Sing Sing’ (2024)
While the film was largely overlooked during the awards season due to its mismanaged release in the middle of the year, Sing Sing still thrives as one of the most critically acclaimed A24 releases of all time. The film is an emotional true story about the revitalizing passion and love within a Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison, with many real-life formerly incarcerated men portraying themselves in the film. The film largely centers around the emotional struggle of Divine G (Colman Domingo), as he attempts to find purpose through the art of acting.
For a film all about the beauty and grace found within acting, it would only make sense that one of the film’s defining strengths is its performances, with Domingo giving a generational performance that is among the best of recent memory. Equally great is his co-lead, Clarence Maclin, who portrays himself in a deeply personal and emotional showing of growth and evolution from his early days as a hardened shell before blossoming into one in touch with his own humanity.
4
‘Marty Supreme’ (2025)
One of A24’s biggest successes to date and a striking thrill ride of high energy and even higher tensions, Marty Supreme feels like the culmination of Josh Safdie‘s wild career of anxiety-driven filmmaking. The film sees Timothée Chalamet as charismatic yet ever so impusive ping pong player Marty Mauser, who has massive dreams of being one of the all-time greats of the sport that can elevate it to worldwide notoriety. In his journey to compete in a high-stakes Japanese tournament, Marty goes on a chaotic adventure to secure funds for what he sees as his last shot to cement his legacy.
What starts as a classic sports movie soon devolves into the signature style of madness and ever-increasing chaos that has defined Safdie’s previous masterpieces, yet is even further elevated by a masterclass of a central performance from Chalamet. The film exudes pure charm and passion from every sequence, further amplifying the passion and drive that the character of Marty himself feels to a self-destructive degree. It’s one of the films that has defined the modern era of A24 and will continue to be one of the most important films they’ve ever released.
3
‘The Brutalist’ (2024)
A meticulously crafted achievement in filmmaking that shows that massive-scale epics can still be accomplished in the modern day, The Brutalist is simultaneously a harkening back to a familiar style of filmmaking as well as a modernization of this classic approach to filmmaking. The film follows the story of visionary architect Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody), as he and his wife (Felicity Jones) flee from post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and make a name for themselves through the American dream. After a partnership with wealthy businessman Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr (Guy Pearce), Toth’s life finds itself forever changed.
Films at this scale and gravitas are rarely created in the modern day, and even more rare is just how seamless and effectively the film makes use of this scale at every opportunity. Even with its gargantuan, nearly 4-hour-long runtime, the film doesn’t waste a minute of screentime with weaving together its story of hope and pain that is emblematic of the immigrant experience in America. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience of the modern era that is a must-watch experience for anyone and everyone who respects the art form of filmmaking.
2
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ (2022)
The best picture-winning crowd-pleaser that has easily become A24’s most acclaimed and recognizable film, Everything Everywhere All at Once is a cacophony of wild visuals and concepts that is one of the decade’s must-watch films. The film follows aging Chinese immigrant Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), who, on what was already a chaotic day at the audit center, gets that much worse when she is considered the key to ending a multiversal struggle. Being trained to harness the skills of alternate-universe versions of herself, Evelyn will have to take down a villain who threatens to destroy the multiverse.
Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s blend of top-notch action choreography, hilarious and absurd visual flairs, and unexpected tearjerker moments made it an instant classic from the very beginning. The film stands for the very type of wild, no-holds-barred, and constantly barrier-pushing capabilities of independent filmmaking that made A24 such an iconic studio and publisher. It manages to live up to all of the lofty expectations and hype surrounding it and will surely go down as one of the most notable films of the modern era.
1
‘Moonlight’ (2016)
Moonlight is an award-winning A24 film directed by Barry Jenkins. The coming-of-age drama explores the life of Chiron (played through his different ages as Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders, and Alex R. Hibbert), a Black man growing up in Miami. Separated into three acts that each focus on different stages of his life, the movie explores Chiron’s grappling with his identity, sexuality, and coming to terms with traumatic events from his childhood.
The A24 movie tackles complex and hard-hitting topics with a kind of grace and empathy that’s so often lacking in portrayals of these subjects. It also offers a unique perspective not often seen in mainstream cinema, giving audiences the chance to connect with its main character and appreciate the emotionally resonant arc he goes through. The film’s simple yet powerful execution has helped it attain a massive status as one of the greatest dramatic films of the 21st century, as well as one of the greatest films A24 has ever released.
Moonlight
- Release Date
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October 21, 2016
- Runtime
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111 minutes
