A24 has been making quite the name for itself over the past few years, releasing some of the most innovative and thought-provoking movies in the horror genre in recent memory. Known for their mostly dark and unsettling themes, A24 films have gained a cult following and critical acclaim for their unique storytelling, strong performances and atmospheric visuals.
From spine-tingling supernatural thrillers to psychological horror dramas, A24 is a studio that prides itself on taking risks and delivering memorable films that leave a lasting impact on audiences. Let's take a look at the studio's most profitable horror films to date.
10. Men
Director: Alex Garland
Release date: May 20, 2022
Domestic box office: $7,587,853
Jessie Buckley plays Harper, a widow who travels to the English countryside to find a quiet place to heal from the grief over her husband's suicide. However, she soon feels as though she's being stalked. And she's right — all the men in the village who torment her appear to have the same face.
Harper's underlying dread becomes a fully formed nightmare, as she is consumed by the memories of her husband and what she believes is her role in his death.
9. Pearl
Director: Ti West
Release date: September 16, 2022
Domestic box office: $9,423,445
The prequel to "X," "Pearl" sheds light on the early days of the old, mysterious, psychopathic woman who appears in the first film of Ti West's trilogy.
Young Pearl (Mia Goth) is trapped on her parent's farm, spending her days caring for her disabled father and under the thumb of her overbearing, devout mother, who dashes her daughter's dreams of leaving with each passing day. But Pearl greatly wishes to be a star and will do anything in her power to get to Hollywood — and we mean anything, including giving in to her murderous urges.
8. The Lighthouse
Director: Robert Eggers
Release date: October 18, 2019
Domestic box office: $10,867,104
"The Lighthouse" is a psychological horror film filled with more "ick" factors than actual jump scares, but what it does, it does well.
Set in the 1890s, two lighthouse keepers, Wake and Winslow (Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, respectively) are isolated on a remote island off the coast of Maine. As they struggle to stay sane while tending to the lighthouse, their isolation, paranoia and superstitions lead to a descent into madness and a battle for survival from each other.
7. Bodies Bodies Bodies
Director: Halina Reijn
Release date: August 5, 2022
Domestic box office: $11,446,602
"Bodies Bodies Bodies" is a comedy horror film about a group of Gen-Zers who typically live life online. They take refuge in a mansion during a hurricane, and to pass the slow time, they play a murder mystery game when the power goes out.
Of course, one of the players ends up dead, and the group is left to wonder whodunit. Mass hysteria and backstabbing become part of the experience as each person attempts to stay alive.
6. X
A24 Films / A24
Director: Ti West
Release date: March 18, 2022
Domestic box office: $11,769,469
The sequel to "Pearl," "X" actually came out before "Pearl." It also stars Mia Goth as both Maxine, a young adult film star who rents farmhouse property for a shoot with her friends, and Pearl, a mysterious but seemingly harmless old woman.
When Maxine and her friends arrive at Pearl's farm (where she still lives 60 years after the prequel ends), Pearl can't help but notice how alike she and Maxine are. Her dashed hopes, dreams and reminders of her youth reignite her bloodlust for the group.
What's next: Ti West is single-handedly bringing back the horror trilogy. The sequel to "X," "MaXXXine," which follows Maxine as she tries to make it in 1980s Hollywood, will be out sometime in 2024.
5. It Comes At Night
A24 Films / YouTube
Director: Trey Edward Shults
Release date: June 9, 2017
Domestic box office: $13,985,117
The solitary cabin in the woods is a frequent trope in horror, and it is used to great effect in "It Comes at Night." The movie follows a small family living in an isolated cabin after a virus wipes out most of humanity.
Everything is fine until another family shows up to take refuge with them. After they agree to take the family in, their paranoia and fear escalate, and the lines between reality and fantasy blur. Soon, they are made to face the consequences of not following their instincts.
4. Room
A24 Films / YouTube
Director: Lenny Abrahamson
Release date: October 16, 2015
Domestic box office: $14,677,674
"Room" is not a horror film in the true sense of the word, but it is a real horror that has played out for kidnapping victims around the world.
Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) has been held captive in a small room for seven years with her 5-year-old son Jack, who was born in captivity to her and her kidnapper, Old Nick. She spends her days attempting to make Jack feel as though life is normal by telling him that nothing beyond Room exists.
The film follows their life in the confined space and their eventual escape as they adjust to life in the outside world. Brie Larson's moving performance won her the Best Actress Oscar in 2016.
3. The Witch
A24 Films / YouTube
Director: Robert Eggers
Release date: February 19, 2016
Domestic box office: $25,138,705
As evidenced by the Salem witch trials, 17th-century New England was rife with superstition and religious fanaticism. "The Witch" takes place in this very environment and follows a Puritan family banished from their village and forced to live on the edge of a forest.
Without their community, they struggle to survive. As strange things begin to happen, they become convinced that a witch is responsible for their bad luck, and their eldest daughter, Thomasin, may have something to do with it.
2. Midsommar
Director: Ari Aster
Release date: July 3, 2019
Domestic box office: $27,426,363
In "Midsommar," a group of friends travels to Sweden to attend a summer solstice festival in a remote village. The festival occurs only once every 90 years, and as it progresses, its rituals become more and more sinister and violent. Despite this, the group decide to stay and see the festival to its end. Of course, not everyone makes it out alive.
Florence Pugh plays Dani, a grieving woman who decides to tag along on the trip after the deaths of her family members. Never has daylight looked so terrifying!
1. Hereditary
A24 Films / YouTube
Director: Ari Aster
Release date: June 8, 2018
Domestic box office: $44,069,456
"Hereditary" put director Ari Aster on the map as the new face of horror. The film follows the Graham family (with Toni Colette playing the family matriarch, Annie) who are dealing with the death of their secretive and controlling grandmother. In its aftermath, terrifying and tragic supernatural occurrences begin to happen around them, and they become increasingly unraveled.
The ending of "Hereditary" is one of the most shocking and memorable ones in recent horror-movie history — we won't give it away, of course, but be prepared to sleep with the lights on!