As the dust settled on Tuesday’s Oscar nominations, independent studio A24 emerged as the most-nominated single studio for the first time in its 10-year history, with a total of 18 nominations across six films. These include Best Picture nominee Everything Everywhere All at Once, which topped all films with a total of 11 nominations, as well as The Whale (actor, supporting actress and make-up and hairstyling), Aftersun (actor), Causeway” (supporting actor), “Close” (international film) and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” (animated film).
“It’s tremendously gratifying to see a film like ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ receive such wide recognition, our first International and Animation nominations, and the eight wonderful actors earn their first Oscar nominations ‘ the studio said in a statement on diversity. “It was a very exciting morning and a testament to the incredible talent we are fortunate to work with.”
The achievement caps a breathtaking awards season for the fledgling company, which has now positioned itself as the industry’s leading fully independent film studio. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges, A24 quickly established itself as the home of sophisticated, sophisticated fare like 2013’s ‘Spring Breakers’ and 2014’s ‘Under the Skin’.
In 2015, A24 made it big at the Oscars, with nominations for harrowing drama Room, sci-fi thriller Ex Machina and Amy Winehouse documentary Amy, all of which took home a trophy ( z or Best Actress, Documentary and Visual Effects). The following year, Moonlight triumphed, winning three Oscars including Best Picture. Since then, A24 has had at least one nominee at every Academy Awards, including 2017’s Lady Bird, 2020’s Minari and 2022’s The Tragedy of Macbeth.
But this year, the studio has scored its biggest awards ceremonies yet by championing films that have pierced the noise. (Disney also claims victory at this year’s Oscars with 22 total nominations, but that’s true across several of its divisions, including Searchlight, 20th Century Studios, Marvel Studios, and Pixar.)
Everything Everywhere was the year’s highest-grossing A24 film indie story of all time, grossing over $104 million worldwide; his 11 nominations came as a surprise even to most forecasters. “The Whale” was also the rare release of that year’s awards season, topping $10 million in domestic grossing, while Paul Mescal (with “Aftersun”) and Brian Tyree Henry (with “Causeway”) both emerged from the tumultuous Actors and supporting actors emerged victorious in races for the best. In an independent film landscape that has grown increasingly grim in the wake of the pandemic, A24’s performance is welcome good news.