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From haunting horror to poignant dramas, this indie studio has redefined modern cinema! Join us as we count down our picks for the best films from the studio that's become synonymous with boundary-pushing storytelling and unforgettable characters. Our list spans everything from mind-bending sci-fi to raw coming-of-age tales that captured critics' hearts.
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00:00We came here because it was our only option!
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the best movies released by A24,
00:09the indie powerhouse that's defined 21st century cinema.
00:23Number 20, Civil War.
00:25Today, I can announce that the so-called Western forces of Texas and California
00:31have suffered a very great loss, a very great defeat,
00:36at the hands of the fighting men and women of the United States military.
00:41Released in April 2024, Alex Garland's Civil War wastes no time easing audiences into its premise.
00:47Set in a near-future United States torn apart by armed conflict,
00:51the film follows war photographers Lee Smith, Kirsten Dunst, Joel, Wagner-Mura,
00:56and Jesse, Kaylee Spaney, as they travel from New York City towards Washington, D.C.
01:01It's my choice, right? And I'll remember that when you lose your shit, or you get blown up, or shot.
01:12Would you photograph that moment if I got shot?
01:18What do you think?
01:19Rather than laying out political ideology,
01:22Garland keeps the focus firmly on the lived experience of conflict,
01:25confusion, fear, and moral exhaustion.
01:28Many scenes were staged with minimal exposition,
01:32letting gunfire and silence do the storytelling.
01:34The result is a film that feels disturbingly plausible,
01:38especially in its depiction of journalists as both observers
01:41and participants in history as it unfolds.
01:44I need a quote.
01:47Don't let him kill me.
01:52Yeah.
01:54That will do.
01:56Number 19. Room.
01:58Take your vitamin.
01:59It's the last one.
02:01This is undoubtedly one of A24's best and most popular movies.
02:05While it wasn't a huge hit at the box office,
02:07it made significant waves in critical circles
02:09due to the raw performances of Brie Larson
02:11and breakout child star Jacob Tremblay.
02:14There's room,
02:16then outer space,
02:17with all the TV planets.
02:20The movie is a brilliant mix of suspenseful survival story
02:23and heartfelt examination of parental love.
02:25And while this epic of captivity certainly doesn't make for easy viewing,
02:29it is immensely rewarding and intimate.
02:32Few movies so successfully capture the unrestricted love a parent has for their child.
02:38And Room,
02:39despite its persistent bleakness,
02:40is a beautiful story of love
02:42and unbreakable familial bonds.
02:44Am I still going to go?
02:48No, not this time.
02:50Number 18. The Lobster.
02:51Would you like to dance?
02:53Filmmaker Yorgos Lentimos and A24 are a match made in heaven.
02:58They first made waves in 2015 with the especially weird The Lobster,
03:02and again in 2017 with the equally odd The Killing of a Sacred Deer.
03:07The Lobster stars an absolutely brilliant Colin Farrell
03:10as a man who must find a romantic partner within 45 days
03:13or face being turned into an animal.
03:16Now have you thought of what animal you'd like to be if you end up alone?
03:18Yes, a lobster.
03:20The movie is unapologetically odd,
03:22yet its distinct weirdness is what makes it so appealing.
03:26It's also a biting satire of society's seemingly never-ending need for relationships
03:30and bubbly stories of love.
03:32It's no coincidence that the targets are shaped like single people and not couples.
03:37Number 17. Spring Breakers.
03:39We wanted to get away and we're fine, we're safe.
03:46Spring Breakers is the one that got A24's name out there.
03:49Directed by Harmony Corrine,
03:51follows a gaggle of, yes, Spring Breakers,
03:54including the previously squeaky clean Selena Gomez,
03:57descending into a world of drugs and violence.
04:00Like a lot of A24 films,
04:02Spring Breakers is stylish as hell,
04:05full of neon colors,
04:06a terrific use of music,
04:07and James Franco hamming it up as a grilled gangster rapper.
04:11It's a unique mix of party fun and heavy crime story,
04:14and it provides one of the most original movie-going experiences in recent years.
04:19My real name's Al,
04:20but truth be told,
04:22I ain't from this planet, y'all.
04:24Number 16. Enemy.
04:26See, every dictatorship,
04:29there's always one obsession,
04:30and that's control.
04:31They want to have control over the people.
04:35In ancient Rome,
04:36they gave bread and circuses.
04:40They kept the populace busy with entertainment.
04:45In other dictatorships,
04:47they have other strategies.
04:48Years before Dune and Blade Runner 2049,
04:51Denis Villeneuve directed Enemy,
04:53which was loosely adapted from José Saramagu's novel The Double.
04:57Jake Gyllenhaal plays Adam Bell,
04:59a Toronto-based history professor
05:01who discovers an actor identical to himself living in the same city.
05:04Can you say something again?
05:06Can you talk again?
05:08Who is this?
05:09That's crazy.
05:11That's amazing.
05:13Your voice is just like mine.
05:15Do you hear my voice?
05:16Your voice is just like mine.
05:18Villeneuve shot the film in washed-out yellows and browns,
05:21giving Canada's biggest city an unfamiliar,
05:23almost oppressive look.
05:25Spiders recur as a visual motif throughout the film,
05:28a detail that has fueled years of online analysis.
05:31Enemy offers few answers and even fewer comforts.
05:34Leaning hard into symbolism and ambiguity.
05:37It's the kind of movie that invites debate long after it ends,
05:41and refuses to clarify itself.
05:44Number 15.
05:45Pearl
05:45When will I see you?
05:47I don't know, Pearl.
05:47It's just an expression.
05:48You're not going to take me to Europe, are you?
05:50Tell me the truth.
05:51Set in rural Texas during the final months of World War I,
05:54Pearl serves as both a prequel and tonal counterpoint to X.
05:58Mia Goth co-wrote the script with director Ty West
06:01while quarantining in New Zealand,
06:03where both films were shot back-to-back.
06:05Goth stars as Pearl,
06:07a young woman trapped on her family's farm,
06:09caring for her ailing father while dreaming of stardom.
06:12No, I'm a star!
06:14Come on.
06:16Please, I'm a star!
06:21I'm sorry, it's time.
06:23Please, somebody help me!
06:26Please, help me!
06:27The film's bright, technicolor-inspired palette
06:30deliberately clashes with its increasingly disturbing subject matter.
06:34Goth's extended, unbroken monologue near the film's climax
06:37became an instant talking point,
06:39showcasing a performance that's equal parts tragic,
06:42frightening, and uncomfortably intimate.
06:44Killing's easier than you'd think.
06:47Till recently,
06:48Mama and the boy from the picture house,
06:50they were different.
06:52They were more meaningful.
06:54I hurt them,
06:55so they too might know what it feels like to suffer,
06:57but poor daddy didn't deserve that.
06:59I wish I hadn't done what I did.
07:00Number 14, Past Lives.
07:24Written and directed by Celine Song,
07:26Past Lives premiered at Sundance in January 2023
07:29and draws heavily from the filmmaker's own life.
07:32The story spans decades and continents,
07:34following Nora, Greta Lee,
07:36who emigrates from Seoul to Canada and later New York,
07:39and Heesung, Tae-oh-yu,
07:41the childhood friend she leaves behind.
08:01Much of the film unfolds in quiet conversations and shared glances,
08:05particularly during a pivotal week in Manhattan.
08:07The Korean concept of Inyeon,
08:10the idea of destiny shaped by countless past connections,
08:13underpins the entire story.
08:15It's a deeply personal film that finds its emotional power
08:18not in dramatic twists,
08:20but in time itself.
08:40Number 13, First Reformed.
08:42I just want...
08:43I know what you want,
08:45and I cannot bear your concern.
08:47You're constant hovering,
08:49your neediness.
08:50You are a constant reminder
08:51of my own personal inadequacies and failings.
08:55You want something that never was
08:57and never will be.
08:59Don't let me do this.
09:01Just put yourself together, okay?
09:03Paul Schrader's First Reformed,
09:05which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2017,
09:09is built almost entirely around Ethan Hawke's
09:12restrained performance as Reverend Ernst Toller.
09:14Set in upstate New York,
09:16the film follows Toller as he grapples with failing faith
09:19and the moral implications of climate change
09:22after counseling a radical environmental activist.
09:25Can God forgive us
09:31for what we've done to this world?
09:38Who can know the mind of God?
09:41Schrader shot the film in a rigid 1.37 to 1 aspect ratio,
09:45reinforcing its sense of confinement.
09:48Hawke reportedly lost weight for the role,
09:50contributing to the character's physical fragility.
09:53Sparse dialogue, long silences,
09:55and an infamous final act
09:57make this one of A24's most challenging films
10:00and one of its most uncompromising.
10:02Who is that priest that you like so much?
10:05Thomas Merton?
10:06Thomas Merton.
10:07He didn't live in the real world either.
10:08Yes, he did.
10:09No, he was a monk
10:10who lived in a monastery in Kentucky and wrote books.
10:13Well, somebody has to do something.
10:16It's the earth that hangs in the balance.
10:18Well, what if this is his plan?
10:19What if we just can't see it?
10:21You think God wants to destroy his creation?
10:23Number 12, Good Time.
10:25Remember how we did it?
10:27Fingers under the flap, pull up.
10:28Push it up, push it up.
10:29Push it up, push it up.
10:30We think Good Time was definitely one of the better movies of 2017.
10:34It stars Robert Pattinson in a very respectable turn
10:37as bank robber Connie Nikas,
10:40who tries to evade the law
10:41and bail his brother out of prison.
10:44Only things don't go smoothly,
10:46and Connie digs himself into deeper and deeper trouble.
10:49Can you leave us alone, please?
10:50The movie is terrifically tense throughout the entirety of its high-energy 90-odd minutes,
10:55and Robert Pattinson gives the performance of his career
10:57as a charismatic, quasi-sociopath on the run.
11:01Good Time successfully puts its viewers into the headspace of its protagonist,
11:05and it is not a nice place to be.
11:07Don't be confused.
11:09It's just going to make it worse for me.
11:10Number 11, Marty Supreme.
11:12I just want the $700 that Murray owes me.
11:15Yeah, or why?
11:16Or I'm going to shoot you in the leg.
11:17No, you're not.
11:18You sure about that?
11:19You shoot me in the leg, you'll be spending the next few years in jail.
11:21Okay, I'll shoot you in the head instead.
11:22You're not going to do that either.
11:24Look, Lloyd, I just want what was promised to me, not a penny more.
11:26I'm going to be coming home with 10 times that amount in prize money.
11:28So just turn the other cheek, let me take what I'm owed,
11:31and I'll give you an even $100 when I get back.
11:33Not interested.
11:34Inspired by the life of legendary American table tennis player Marty Reisman,
11:38Marty Supreme stars Timothee Chalamet as the fast-talking, hustling sports icon.
11:43Directed by Josh Safdie, the film was shot across New York City and Europe,
11:47capturing Reisman's rise from Manhattan pool halls to international competition.
11:51I'm so sorry it doesn't meet your high standards.
11:54We offer complimentary housing to all our players, Mr. Masters.
11:57So far as I know, you're the only one to complain.
11:59You're talking to me like I'm any player off the street, okay?
12:01I need good rest so I can win the tournament.
12:03You know perfectly well what an American win will do for the future of the sport.
12:06I'm good for table tennis, Mr. Seppi.
12:08Appeal to the USTTA.
12:09There's no USTTA.
12:10The USTTA is two guys and a desk.
12:12It doesn't exist.
12:12That's not my problem.
12:13It is your problem.
12:14I want to stay where you're staying.
12:15That's what I need.
12:16Rather than treating ping pong as a novelty,
12:18the film leans into Reisman's charisma and self-destructive tendencies,
12:22portraying him as a showman as much as an athlete.
12:25Chalamet trained extensively for the role,
12:27performing his own table tennis sequences.
12:29The result is a sports biopic that feels scrappy,
12:33character-driven, and unmistakably A24.
12:35How do you plan on eating food today?
12:38Honestly, I was going to order room service the second you leave.
12:41Nice.
12:41Yeah, nice.
12:43And what do you plan to do if this whole dream of yours doesn't work out?
12:46That doesn't even enter my consciousness.
12:48Okay.
12:49Maybe it should.
12:51Wow.
12:53You sound like my mom.
12:54Number 10.
12:55The Witch.
13:01A24's horror movies have the ability to wow.
13:04Cases in point, 2017's It Comes at Night,
13:07and particularly 2015's The Witch.
13:10Both are critically acclaimed and unrelentingly creepy.
13:15The Witch is a bewitching movie, sorry,
13:17about a banished Puritan family who's seemingly haunted by an unseen force in the nearby woods.
13:23Like Good Time, this movie isn't as concerned with story
13:26as it is with powerfully immersing viewers in its universe.
13:29I beg thee,
13:33save my children.
13:35The Witch is nothing but pure paranoia for 90 minutes,
13:39and you'd be hard-pressed to find a movie that more successfully evokes pure dread and helplessness.
13:44We will conquer this wilderness.
13:46It will not consume us.
13:48Number 9.
13:48The Florida Project.
13:49The man who lives in here gets arrested a lot.
13:52The Florida Project is undoubtedly one of A24's successes.
13:56It was nominated for an Academy Award,
13:59and is in the high 90s on Rotten Tomatoes.
14:02And for good reason.
14:03While the story of an impoverished family living in a motel in Orlando,
14:06in the shadow of Disney World,
14:08may not sound like much,
14:09maybe even a little cliche,
14:11the story is told with exquisite empathy and detail.
14:14But if you're bad for her,
14:16she's about to cry.
14:19I can always tell when adults are about to cry.
14:22Child actor Brooklyn Prince gives a fantastic performance as six-year-old Mooney,
14:27and the characters,
14:28including Willem Dafoe as a caring motel manager,
14:31are all three-dimensional and all too human.
14:34Now...
14:34It's gonna melt outside!
14:37Obviously,
14:38it's melting inside too.
14:39Number 8.
14:40Ex Machina.
14:41Do you have a name?
14:43Yes.
14:46Ava.
14:47If Spring Breakers put A24 on the map,
14:49Ex Machina vaulted them into the mainstream.
14:52The movie stars Donal Gleason as Caleb Smith,
14:54a programmer who's invited to his boss's secluded mansion
14:57to give the Turing test to a sophisticated AI,
15:00played to perfection by Alicia Vikander.
15:03I don't know the answer to your question.
15:07It's not up to me.
15:09Why is it up to anyone?
15:11Like most great movies and works of literature,
15:14Ex Machina raises big questions about modern life,
15:17while still boasting a well-told story
15:19full of interesting characters,
15:21excitement,
15:22and drama.
15:23It's also somewhat of a rarity,
15:24remaining highly sophisticated and intelligent
15:27without being pretentious.
15:29Ex Machina is sci-fi done right.
15:31You shouldn't trust him.
15:34You shouldn't trust anything he says.
15:37Number 7. Lady Bird.
15:39I hate California.
15:40I want to go to the East Coast.
15:42Like the Florida Project,
15:43Lady Bird is a fantastic example of quality filmmaking,
15:47elevating an everyday concept.
15:49The story is nothing new.
15:50A high school girl comes of age
15:52and must deal with a seemingly problematic
15:54and overbearing mother.
15:55You know, with your work ethic,
15:56just go to city college and then to jail,
15:58and then back to city college,
16:00and then maybe you'd learn to pull yourself up.
16:01But what makes Lady Bird so fantastic
16:03is its construction and execution.
16:06The script is wonderfully human and relatable,
16:09and the characters are finely detailed.
16:11Greta Gerwig also directs her script
16:13with a masterful natural eye.
16:16Lady Bird is undoubtedly
16:17a coming-of-age classic in a crowded field.
16:20I just...
16:22I wish that you liked me.
16:25Of course I love you.
16:30But do you like me?
16:33Number 6. Under the Skin.
16:35Do you think I'm pretty?
16:36I'm gorgeous.
16:38That's good.
16:38I definitely...
16:40Under the Skin stars megastar Scarlett Johansson,
16:43but it was certainly not meant for mainstream audiences.
16:45Johansson stars as an alien
16:47who takes on a human woman's appearance
16:49to lure and prey on men.
16:51However, this is not a typical invasion movie.
16:54It's, again, more of an immersive experience
16:56than a coherent story.
16:58The movie is rife with symbolism
16:59and is a probing look at such heavy topics
17:02as sexism and gender roles.
17:04It's not light entertainment,
17:06but it is distinctive and unapologetic.
17:09Maybe that explains why it failed at the box office,
17:12but was a critical hit.
17:13Come to me.
17:17Number 5. Hereditary.
17:19My mother was a very secretive and private woman.
17:24She had private rituals, private friends, private anxieties.
17:29It honestly feels like a betrayal
17:31just to be standing here talking about her.
17:33Ari Aster's feature debut, released in June 2018,
17:37begins as a grief drama
17:38before gradually revealing its true horror.
17:41Toni Collette stars as Annie Graham,
17:43an artist processing the death of her mother
17:45while her family begins to unravel.
17:48Much of the film was shot on meticulously constructed sets,
17:51allowing Aster to frame the house like a dollhouse,
17:54a visual metaphor for control and fate.
17:57Collette's dinner table outburst
17:58became a highly quoted viral scene.
18:00If you could have just said I'm sorry
18:02or faced up to what happened,
18:05maybe Dan we could do something with this,
18:07but you can't take responsibility for anything.
18:10So now I can't accept
18:12and I can't forgive
18:16because...
18:19because nobody admits anything they've done!
18:23By grounding its supernatural elements
18:25in raw emotional pain,
18:27Hereditary delivers horror that feels inescapable,
18:30lingering long after the final image.
18:32Number 4.
18:33The Brutalist
18:34I'm sorry,
18:35have I upset you?
18:38No.
18:41Not at all.
18:45I did not realize these images were still available,
18:50much less of any consequence.
18:52This epic drama,
18:53directed by Brady Corbet,
18:55premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2024
18:58and immediately stood out for its scale and ambition.
19:01Adrian Brody,
19:02who won his second Oscar
19:03for his breathtaking performance,
19:05stars as Laszlo Toth,
19:07a Hungarian-Jewish architect
19:08who emigrates to the United States
19:10after surviving the Holocaust.
19:12Spanning decades,
19:13the film explores creative ambition,
19:15patronage,
19:16and the emotional toll of rebuilding a life.
19:19Everything that is
19:23ugly,
19:26cruel,
19:29stupid,
19:31but most importantly,
19:33ugly,
19:35everything
19:37is your fault.
19:39Shot largely in VistaVision,
19:41its stark compositions mirror
19:43the imposing architecture at its center.
19:45Clocking in at over three hours,
19:47The Brutalist is intentionally demanding,
19:50a slow, deliberate examination
19:51of genius and sacrifice.
19:54Because they do not want us here.
19:55Of course Attila wants us here.
19:57What, Attila?
19:58Then who do you mean?
19:59There are people here.
20:01They do not want us here.
20:04I do my research.
20:06These guys live near the Whalo Mines,
20:07which primarily is red opals,
20:09which aren't worth shit.
20:11Oh, okay.
20:11But these,
20:12you can't get your hands on these things.
20:15You understand?
20:15Really?
20:16So look,
20:16I say to my son,
20:17how do I get a hold of these guys?
20:19And I've managed to track these guys down.
20:21I buy one from them.
20:23Holy snail,
20:23set over a frenetic few days
20:29in New York City's Diamond District,
20:31Uncut Gems stars Adam Sandler
20:32as Howard Ratner,
20:34a jeweler addicted to risk.
20:36Released in December 2019,
20:38the film incorporates real locations
20:40and non-actors,
20:41including NBA star Kevin Garnett
20:43playing a heightened version of himself.
20:45You're not gonna score on the big one
20:47on Game 7?
20:49F*** these people, right?
20:51That's how you feel.
20:52I know you do.
20:53The Safdie brothers build tension
20:55through overlapping dialogue,
20:56relentless pacing,
20:58and near-constant noise.
20:59Sandler's performance
21:00was widely praised
21:01for shedding his comedic persona,
21:03instead presenting Howard
21:05as charming,
21:06manipulative,
21:06and doomed.
21:08Where's Anne?
21:08I want to speak with her.
21:09I'm sorry,
21:10Anne is in a meeting right now.
21:11No,
21:11get her out of the meeting.
21:12It's an emergency.
21:13I want to speak with her.
21:15Call her on the phone, please.
21:19If you promise
21:21to keep your voice down,
21:22I'm happy to call her.
21:24The film's infamous ending
21:25feels less like a shock
21:26and more like an inevitability,
21:28the natural end point
21:30of unchecked obsession.
21:32Number two,
21:33everything, everywhere,
21:34all at once.
21:35I'm here because
21:36we need your help.
21:38Very busy today.
21:39Hold tight to help you.
21:42There's a great evil
21:43that has taken root
21:44in my world
21:44and it's begun spreading
21:45its chaos
21:46throughout the many universes.
21:47I've spent years
21:48searching for the one
21:49who might be able
21:50to match this great evil
21:51with an even greater good
21:53and bring back balance.
21:54All those years of searching
21:56have brought me here,
21:57to this universe,
21:58to you.
22:00Released in March 2022,
22:02Everything, Everywhere,
22:03All at Once
22:03became an unexpected phenomenon.
22:06Michelle Yeoh stars
22:07as Evelyn Wong,
22:08a struggling laundromat owner
22:09facing an IRS audit
22:10when she suddenly pulled
22:11into a multiverse crisis.
22:13Directed by Daniel Kwan
22:14and Daniel Scheinert,
22:16the film blends martial arts,
22:17absurdist comedy,
22:19sci-fi,
22:19and family drama
22:20at breakneck speed.
22:33We all having a stroke?
22:35Much of the visual effects work
22:36was completed by a small team
22:37using consumer-grade software.
22:39Despite its chaos,
22:41the film centers on intimate themes,
22:43generational trauma,
22:44regret,
22:45and choosing kindness.
22:47Its sweep at the 95th Academy Awards
22:49cemented it as 824's biggest
22:51mainstream breakthrough.
22:52Maybe there is something out there,
22:55some new discovery
22:57that will make us feel
22:58like even small pieces of shit.
23:03Something that explains why
23:06you still weren't looking for me
23:08through all of this mess.
23:10Before we continue,
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23:26Number 1.
23:27Moonlight.
23:28I'm not gonna let you go.
23:29Hey man, I got you.
23:31It's unfortunate
23:32that this brilliant film
23:33will forever be associated
23:34with the infamous
23:35best picture fiasco
23:36because Moonlight deserves acknowledgement
23:38as one of the best films
23:40of the 2010s.
23:41Throughout this coming-of-age story,
23:43yes, another one,
23:44we follow the often harrowing
23:46life travails of Chiron,
23:48from troubled upbringing
23:49to adulthood.
23:50Should I cry so much sometimes,
23:52I feel like I'm gonna just
23:53turn the drug.
23:54And while the movie explores
23:55the many challenges
23:56and dangers of growing up
23:58gay, black, and poor
23:59in Miami,
24:00Moonlight is also
24:01a masterful examination
24:02of the human condition.
24:03Bleak and uplifting
24:05in equal measure,
24:06it is a masterpiece.
24:08At some point,
24:09you gotta decide for yourself
24:10who you want to be.
24:14Can't let nobody
24:14make that decision for you.
24:16Which A24 flick
24:17is your favorite?
24:18Are there any we missed?
24:19Be sure to let us know
24:20in the comments.
24:21Let us know in the comments.
24:22Let us know in the comments.
24:23Let us know in the comments.
24:25Let us know in the comments.
24:25Let us know in the comments.
24:26Let us know in the comments.
24:26Let us know in the comments.
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