Two years after Josh Kushner’s Thrive Capital helped value A24 at $3.5 billion, the independent studio is expanding far beyond traditional filmmaking, with major deals involving Dior and Google and a breakout box-office success.
In 2024, Thrive Capital led a funding round that valued A24 at roughly $3.5 billion, 40 percent above its valuation two years earlier. Kushner, whose investment firm is better known for backing technology companies such as Instagram, Spotify and Stripe, also joined A24’s board.
The bet was based on the idea that A24 could combine creative talent with an innovative approach to business and technology.
In 2026, that strategy has begun to take shape.
From indie studio to cultural brand
A24’s biggest breakthrough this year came with Backrooms, directed by 21-year-old Kane Parsons and adapted from his viral YouTube series.
Co-financed by A24 and Chernin Entertainment for around $10 million, the film opened to $81 million domestically and has since generated roughly $400 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing independent films ever.
The success follows Marty Supreme, which earned around $191 million globally and received nine Oscar nominations. Its promotional campaign also demonstrated A24’s ability to turn films into lifestyle brands, with jackets created in collaboration with designer Doni Nahmias becoming highly sought-after items.
More than 70 percent of the opening audiences for Marty Supreme, The Drama and Backrooms were under 35, giving A24 access to the young demographic sought after by both luxury brands and technology companies.
Dior partnership expands A24’s reach
A24’s latest expansion is a two-year creative partnership with Dior, led by the French fashion house’s creative director Jonathan Anderson.
The deal covers film, theater and live events and centers partly on the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York, which A24 acquired in 2023 and reopened last year.
The partnership has also included a campaign and short film featuring Anderson alongside stars including Sabrina Carpenter, Josh O’Connor, Drew Starkey, Camille Cottin and Sophie Wilde.
For Dior, the collaboration provides another route to younger audiences. For A24, it offers access to the global reach and resources of a major luxury house.
The partnership builds on A24’s longstanding strategy of turning its films and cultural properties into products, events and collaborations.
The company has previously worked with streetwear brands, launched products linked to films such as Midsommar and expanded into areas including beauty, publishing and live theater.
Google brings A.I. into the picture
In June, Google invested around $75 million in A24 as part of a multiyear A.I. research partnership with its DeepMind division.
It marked the first known investment by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in a film studio. The agreement is nonexclusive and does not give Google access to A24’s film and television library or its content data.
The partnership is being overseen at A24 by Scott Belsky, who leads the company’s technology and innovation efforts through A24 Labs.
Belsky has argued that A.I. should not simply be used to make filmmaking cheaper or faster. Instead, he says, A24 wants to help shape tools designed around the needs of artists.
The deal nevertheless sparked criticism from some A24 fans, particularly at a time when Hollywood remains concerned about the potential impact of A.I. on creative jobs.
A bigger business with a bigger risk
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges, who left the company in 2018. For years, it built a reputation as an independent distributor and studio with a distinctive creative identity.
That business has now grown considerably. A24’s revenues have more than doubled over the past two years, according to The Wall Street Journal, while its film budgets have increased sharply. Civil War cost around $50 million, while Marty Supreme reportedly cost $60 million or more.
The studio’s expansion into fashion, technology, merchandise, theater and other businesses reflects the original investment thesis behind the $3.5 billion valuation: that A24 could become a cultural brand rather than simply a movie company.
The challenge is maintaining that identity as the company increasingly partners with some of the world’s largest corporations.
After years of cultivating a devoted young audience, A24 is now selling its creative reach to companies including Dior and Google. Its next test will be whether it can continue expanding while preserving the distinctive relationship with its audience that made the brand valuable in the first place.
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