A24’s recent cash infusion is just the latest flash of its Wall Street DNA

Now valued at $3.5 billion, A24 has always been as much the product of savvy business moves as it is an arbiter of auteur-driven cinema.

More than any other contemporary film studio, A24 has cultivated a recognizable vibe, one that is synonymous with artistic integrity. They put out edgy movies from auteur filmmakers, winning critical and commercial acclaim while operating under relatively low budgets. Which is why  last week’s news that A24 took $75 million last week from Thrive Capital, a heavy investor in OpenAI, struck some obsessive fans as betrayal. Their auteur darling was not, it seems, above collaborating with the enemy of creativity.