Production company A24 was founded in 2012, and over the last ten years it has produced many interesting, characteristically stylish movies across a range of genres. These include terrific sci-fi movies like Under the Skin and Denis Villeneuve's Enemy; dramas like Locke, Eighth Grade, and 20th Century Women; and wacky genre hybrids Swiss Army Man and A Ghost Story. They also collaborated with HBO to produce Euphoria.

As a result, A24 has acquired a growing fan base, meaning bigger budgets and bigger stars. 2024 looks like it'll be another big year for the company — it will see the release of many intriguing projects, including Civil War. Without further ado, these are the highest-grossing A24 films to date, from Spring Breakers to the critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once.

12 'Spring Breakers' (2013)

Worldwide Earnings: $31,724,284

Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine and Selena Gomez stand in court wearing bikinis in this still from the film Spring Breakers
Image via A24

Spring Breakers is A24's first real hit. It stars Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Benson as a group of college friends who get mixed up with a drug dealer (James Franco) and soon find themselves entangled in a world of crime and violence. It's very tongue-in-cheek though, with a madcap sense of humor.

Earning over $31 million globally, this controversial Harmony Korine teen flick was surely a hit when it was released, though it did divide some audiences. While some perceived the film as sexist due to its objectification of women, others viewed it as a feminist or female-empowerment film. Nonetheless, Spring Breakers' popularity is given thanks to its well-crafted, provocative story and, of course, the fact that it starred one of the fan-favorite singers at the time. Director Harmony Korine says he carefully selected the cast members to emphasize the movie's themes: "There's obviously something very exciting about working with these girls who are, in some ways, in real life, representative of that culture and that pop mythology; and also people who the public can identify as personalities that are complete contrasts to what they're portraying in the film," Korine has said in an interview.

Spring Breakers
R
Crime
Documentary
Drama

Release Date
January 24, 2013
Director
Harmony Korine
Runtime
94

Watch on Max

11 'Room' (2015)

Worldwide Earnings: $35,401,758

Brie Larson looking at a kid in Room
Image via A24

Room tells the story of Joy (Brie Larson), a young woman who is kidnapped and held captive for seven years. She is kept in a shed with her five-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay). Despite the horrific situation, Joy tries to care for Jack and remain hopeful, even as the odds of them escaping seem more and more remote.

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, this intense Oscar-nominated flick is still among Brie Larson's best, with the star winning Best Actress for the first time for her efforts in it. This is added to the incredibly intense screenplay it features, so it is no wonder why Room has scored over $35 million at the box office. "The most conventional romantic trope of all is that you put lovers under extreme pressure, where they have to make decisions that illuminate aspects of that bond," director Lenny Abrahamson explains. "Room does the same, but with the parent-child relationship."

Room
R
Drama
Documentary
Thriller

Release Date
October 16, 2015
Director
Lenny Abrahamson
Cast
Brie Larson , Megan Park , William H. Macy , Joan Allen , Amanda Brugel , Sean Bridgers
Runtime
113 minutes

Watch on Max

10 'Ex Machina' (2014)

Worldwide Earnings: $37,394,629

Alicia Vikander in 'Ex Machina'
Image via A24

Ex Machina was the directorial debut by 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland. It's a sophisticated thriller about an inventor (Oscar Isaac), his A.I. robot (Alicia Vikander), and a programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) with no idea what he's getting himself into. It boasts great acting, a story full of twists, and plenty of thoughtful commentary about artificial intelligence.

On top of tackling technological advancement and its consequences, the thought-provoking Ex Machina also provides a thoughtful commentary on misogyny and female objectification."I just got very interested in the area of artificial intelligence and, in particular, how it relates to human consciousness because it's about what we value about each other," Alex Garland told NPR. "I could see that there was a lot of anxiety floating around about A.I.s. And I wanted to address it partly because I thought it was misplaced." This incredible A24 sci-fi movie has collected $37,394,629 worldwide.

Ex Machina
R
Sci-Fi
Drama
Thriller

Release Date
April 24, 2015
Director
Alex Garland
Cast
Domhnall Gleeson , Corey Johnson , Oscar Isaac , Alicia Vikander , Sonoya Mizuno , Claire Selby
Runtime
108 minutes

Watch on Max

9 'The Witch' (2015)

Worldwide Earnings: $40,423,945

Anya Taylor Joy standing in a eerie field in 'The Witch'
Image via A24

The Witch was the first feature for both director Robert Eggers and star Anya Taylor-Joy. They hit the ground running, resulting in one of the most immersive and thoughtful horrors of the last decade. The film takes place in a New England settlement in the 1600s, where dark events begin to plague a family. Notably, the atmospheric The Witch eschews jump scares for slow-burning tension and allegory.

"It’s about the family," Eggers says in a conversation with Criterion. "One of the things I like about classic fairy tales is the same thing I like about myths: they explore complex family dynamics. The family drama is the most interesting drama; that’s why Hamlet and King Lear are generally the most lauded Shakespeare plays." With the downfall of a puritan, dysfunctional family at its center, Eggers' 40-million-dollar folk horror deals with themes of generational trauma and oppression with fantastic results.

The Witch
R
Horror
Mystery

Release Date
January 27, 2015
Director
Robert Eggers
Cast
Anya Taylor-Joy , Ralph Ineson , Kate Dickie , Harvey Scrimshaw , Ellie Grainger , Lucas Dawson
Runtime
92

Watch on Max

8 'Midsommar' (2019)

Worldwide Earnings: $48,059,189

A woman looking upset while covered in flowers
Image via A24

After the success of Hereditary, director Ari Aster teamed up with Florence Pugh for this psychological slasher about a group of friends who attend a Swedish midsummer festival. After a while, it turns out that said locals belong to a cult that engages in human sacrifice.

Earning over $47 million dollars, Midsommar is unusual for a horror in that it takes place almost entirely in broad daylight. While it features incredibly striking cinematography, Midsommar is also unnerving and alarming at times, featuring no jumpscares, and relying on creepy imagery instead. According to Ari Aster, "The film is adjacent to horror; I wouldn’t call it a horror film. I think of it as a fairy tale with horror elements. It's folk horror, but it’s being given to you with the trajectory of a high-school comedy."

Midsommar
R
Horror
Psychological

Release Date
July 3, 2019
Director
Ari Aster
Cast
Florence Pugh , will poulter , William Jackson Harper , Jack Reynor , Julia Ragnarsson , Björn Andrésen
Runtime
140 minutes

Watch on Kanopy

7 'Uncut Gems' (2019)

Worldwide Earnings: $50,023,780

Adam Sandler showing off a gold necklace in Uncut Gems
Image via A24

Few films are as wild and frenetic as this crime thriller directed by the Safdie brothers. It centers on Howard (Adam Sandler), a jeweler with a gambling addiction who has to retrieve a gem to pay his debt to a crew of gangsters. Sandler delivers his darkest and most complex performance since Punch-Drunk Love.

The anxiety-inducing Uncut Gems, which highlights the self-destructive compulsion to win no matter the cost, undoubtedly makes it to the highest-grossing A24 films, earning $50,023,780 globally. It is not hard to understand why. "The idea is that [Howard is] rough on the outside, but if you scratched below the surface, you see the beauty, and you see these things that you didn’t quite know were there at first glance," Benny Safdie has told Vulture. "You need to understand him to really love and know who he is."

Uncut Gems
R
Drama
Comedy
Crime
Documentary

Release Date
August 30, 2019
Director
Ben Safdie , Joshua Safdie
Cast
Adam Sandler , Julia Fox , Kevin Garnett , The Weeknd , Idina Menzel , Jonathan Aranbayev
Runtime
130

Watch on Netflix

6 'The Whale' (2022)

Worldwide Earnings: $54,883,206

A close-up of Charlie looking intently to his right in The Whale.
Image via A24

The Whale was a pretty divisive film when it came out in 2022. Still, it delivered Brendan Fraser his due Academy Award, marking the actor's comeback to the big screens. Darren Aronofsky's movie depicts the story of an overweight and reclusive English professor who attempts to reconnect with his teenage daughter (Sadie Sink) after the loss of his boyfriend.

Now earning a spot among the highest-grossing movies by A24, The Whale has grossed $54,883,206 at the international box office, despite often being criticized for not actually casting a 600-pound man for the role and, as some viewers believe, mocking obese people. Nonetheless, it was an impressive comeback for Fraser, as Aronofsky would agree: "Once a movie star, always a movie star," the filmmaker said in a conversation with the BFI. "And it’s just exciting to see that artist come back to life and be given such a complicated character." – Daniela Gama

The Whale
R
Drama

Release Date
December 21, 2022
Director
Darren Aronofsky
Cast
Brendan Fraser , Sadie Sink , Ty Simpkins , Hong Chau
Runtime
117 minutes

Watch on Paramount+

5 'Moonlight' (2016)

Worldwide Earnings: $65,172,611

Juan holds Chiron on the ocean in Moonlight.
Image via A24 

Moonlight is probably the studio's most moving film and one of A24's best coming-of-ages. It tells the story of Chiron, a gay young man from Liberty City, Miami. Three different actors play Chiron; first as a boy, then as a teenager, and finally, as an adult. It represented a major step forward for director Barry Jenkins, and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

"When I first read Tarell [Alvin McCraney]’s play, I told him it was like he took a memory of my memories and placed them into this fever dream," Jenkins has revealed to the BFI. "I’m glad visually, that’s what the translation became. I’ve always tried to find a way to use the aesthetics of filmmaking to tap into the subconscious. That’s the power of cinema." Elevated by its stunning visuals and touching narrative of identity, self-discovery, and sexuality, Moonlight is, as many would agree, a truly incredibly touching cinematic experience — its $65,172,611 earnings prove that.

Moonlight
R
Drama
Documentary

Release Date
October 21, 2016
Director
Barry Jenkins
Runtime
110

Watch on Max

4 'Lady Bird' (2017)

Worldwide Earnings: $78,986,478

Saoirse Ronan and Beanie Feldstein as Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson and Julianne Steffans in Lady Bird, looking disinterestedly at something offscreen
Image via A24

After proving herself as an actress in films like Frances Ha and 20th Century Women, Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig stepped behind the camera for this coming-of-age story about a teenage girl (Sairose Ronan) and her strained relationship with her mother (Laurie Metcalf).

The Oscar-winning Lady Bird is not only one of the studio's highest-grossing films, but also one of A24's most-watched movies. This makes sense, given how relatable of a story it can be to younger audiences, and how easy it is to sympathize with it no matter what age one is. "I wanted to explore the fact that I think when you're a teenager, you're trying to figure out who you are through the refraction of other people," Gerwig admitted to NPR. "It's reaching for a definition of oneself through relationships and sometimes rejecting the ones that are close to you because you are sure that someone else is better; someone would reflect a better self to you."

Lady Bird
R
Comedy
Documentary

Release Date
September 8, 2017
Director
Greta Gerwig
Cast
Saoirse Ronan , Laurie Metcalf , Tracy Letts , Lucas Hedges , Timothee Chalamet , Elizabeth 'Beanie' Feldstein
Runtime
93

Watch on Netflix

3 'Hereditary' (2018)

Worldwide Earnings: $82,729,816

Toni Collette watching Gabriel Byrne burn to death in Hereditary
Image Via A24

Possibly Ari Aster's most popular – and, arguably, best – project to date, Hereditary has grossed $82,729,816 globally. It is a truly terrifying horror centering around a grieving family tormented by a demonic entity after the death of the matriarch. Secrets about her dark past are slowly unearthed, shocking both the family at its center and audiences.

"I knew that I really wanted to make a film about the corrosive effects of trauma on a family unit," Aster revealed to VOX, explaining the essence of the film. "I knew that I wanted to make a film that had sort of an ouroboros quality about a family that’s basically eating itself in its grief. It’s a story that I certainly had in me." No doubt, Hereditary turned out to be one of the most unnerving portrayals of grief and dysfunctional families in cinematic history.

Hereditary
R
Horror
Psychological
Supernatural

Release Date
June 8, 2018
Director
Ari Aster
Cast
Toni Collette , Gabriel Byrne , Alex Wolff , Milly Shapiro , Ann Dowd , Zachary Arthur
Runtime
127 minutes

Watch on Max

2 'Talk to Me' (2023)

Worldwide Earnings: $92,039,206

Sophie Wilde with mouth open and pitch black eyes while being possessed by a spirt in Talk to Me.
Image via A24

The Australian film Talk to Me was one of last year's most pleasing surprises in the horror genre. Michael and Danny Phillippou's film centers around a group of teenagers who discover they can contact spirits using a mysterious severed and embalmed hand. Needless to say, this doesn't end well.

Collecting over $92 million dollars at the box office, Talk to Me has become the second highest-grossing A24 film to date, which is quite understandable considering how anticipated A24 films are, especially when it comes to horror. Dealing with the very humane, universal topics of grief and loss, Talk to Me sheds light on the human connection with the deadly through a cursed hand. This makes a lot of sense when one thinks about it. "How hands relate to human connection was always such a strong idea in my mind. All the way through the script’s first draft, before we even found the [concept of the embalmed] hand, hands were such a big motif, a recurrent thematic concept representing connections between people," Danny Philippou explained about the film. – Daniela Gama

Talk to Me
R
Horror
Thriller

Release Date
July 28, 2023
Director
Danny Philippou , Michael Philippou
Cast
Sophie Wilde , Joe Bird , Alexandra Jensen , Otis Dhanji
Runtime
94 minutes

Watch in Cinemas

1 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (2022)

Worldwide Earnings: $143,414,741

Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn, fighting while paper sheets fly around her in Everything Everywhere All at Once
Image via A24

Everything Everywhere All at Once was, hands down, the biggest breakout hit of 2022. It seemingly came out of nowhere to become a critical and commercial sensation. The A24 movie is a surreal, wacky, oddly philosophical adventure across multiple dimensions that succeeds thanks to the terrific performances from lead Michelle Yeoh and villain Jamie Lee Curtis.

According to directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the movie is about "trying to exist and live in the chaos of modern life." "That was the thing that we were trying to capture," Kwan explains. "There's no bad guy in the movie except for chaos itself – existence, so we could touch all those things: intergenerational [issues], sexuality, queer identity, Asian American identity, taxes!" All in all, EEAaO had everything to work out really well. And we're all really glad it did. In fact, this Best Picture action film winner from A24 was so good that it even had audiences queuing up at international cinemas, ultimately gathering $143,414,741.

Everything Everywhere All at Once
R
Adventure
Comedy

Release Date
March 25, 2022
Cast
Jenny Slate , Michelle Yeoh , jamie lee curtis , Ke Huy Quan
Runtime
139 minutes

Watch on Amazon Prime

NEXT: The Best A24 Movies of All Time, Ranked According to IMDb