Warner Bros. Discovery and its CEO, David Zaslav, have earned a bloodless reputation for pruning home platforms of content to save a buck.
Counterintuitively, who knows what WBD just paid to acquire "Pay-1" rights to films from red-hot indie label A24. But it had to be considerable. And it will undoubtedly do some reparation to brands including HBO, which has been besieged under Zaslav's watch with claims of being stripped bare of prestige.
A24, which produced Oscar's last Best Picture winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once, had been delivering its titles to Paramount Plus with Showtime after theatrical release under a deal signed back in 2019.
The new WBD deal makes linear TV brands HBO and Cinemax, as well as subscription streaming platform Max, the exclusive post-theatrical home to A24's growing library of prestige adult dramas.
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That list includes Priscilla, filmmaker Sophia Coppola's music-legend biopic starring Cailee Spaeny in the title role and Jacob Elordi as the character's idol Elvis Presley, which was placed into limited theatrical release back in late-October.
Also included is The Iron Claw, writer-director Sean Durkin's biopic focused on Kevin Von Erich's life growing up in a Texas-based family of pro wrestlers, which stars Zach Efron. That's set for theatrical release on Dec. 22.
WBD had previously had access to a limited selection of A24 titles, but that library will expand to include not only Everything Everywhere All at Once, but titles including Uncut Gems and The Whale.
A24 has carved out a reputation among younger, sophisticated movie fans, incubating small projects from auteur filmmakers. Certainly, the acquisition of the label's films can't hurt Max, which lost 2.5 million subscribers in the six months between March 31 - Sept. 30.
“Continuing our relationship with A24 to bring award-winning movies alongside recent fan-favorites to subscribers adds incredible value to the HBO and Max value proposition,” said Royce Battleman, executive VP of content acquisitions at WBD, in a statement. “The diverse range of stories that come from the A24 pipeline make this partnership so impactful for our audience.”
