After trying out a variety of streaming homes since their exclusive deal with Showtime ended, A24’s library of movies has found a new service to live on: Max.
Variety reports that the indie distributor/production company with the expensive merch and extremely online fan club signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, meaning that their films would head to Cinemax, HBO and Max (formerly HBO Max) after their theatrical runs in the U.S. As the streaming world goes through its ebb-and-flow cycle, Showtime has been eaten up by the more mainstream service of its corporate owner, Paramount+. This may not have played a part in the A24 move, but it is indicative of how some streamers are operating now solely as digital wings of their studios’ libraries. Max, which has famously shelved its own WB movies and dropped others, doesn’t quite fit into that category — and was also in need of an optics win.
With A24, they have one. The company won over its supporters not just through savvy marketing, but through a solid hit rate that’s only gotten better over time. Adding a selection of high-quality movies to the Max collection will be a boon for subscribers, especially as it supplements the service’s other streaming exclusives (like the films of Studio Ghibli).
When exactly this deal will translate into results isn’t clear, though Variety does mention a slew of 2023 and future releases as movies affected by the deal, including Nicolas Cage’s Dream Scenario, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, and Alex Garland’s upcoming film Civil War. For some, that’s reason enough to stick around on Max — regardless of the ridiculous stunts its CEO keeps pulling.
Jacob Oller is Movies Editor at Paste Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at @jacoboller.
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