Google makes its first-ever stake in a movie studio.
A24 / A24
Google is investing roughly $75 million in A24, the studio behind the latest hits like Backrooms and Obsession, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The investment comes attached to a new AI research partnership between A24 and Google DeepMind, Google’s artificial intelligence research lab.
What this means for A24’s films going forward
According to Google DeepMind, the goal is to pair a leading AI research lab with the most filmmaker friendly studio in the business, and let the artists shape the technology instead of the other way around.
A24 filmmakers get hands-on access to DeepMind’s research and infrastructure, while DeepMind gets real feedback from working directors as they build new tools together.
DeepMind cofounder and CEO Demis Hassabis says the best way to build tools that actually empower artists is to work with them directly from day one.
Importantly, the deal does not give Google access to A24’s existing film and television library or its data, so your favorite A24 titles stay exactly where they are.
Why Google picked A24 specifically
A24 has spent the last decade building a brand people genuinely love, with survey data showing more than half of moviegoers count themselves fans of the studio itself, not just individual movies. Right now, A24 is also gearing up for its biggest swing yet, a roughly $175 million Elden Ring adaptation directed by Alex Garland.
This deal also lands amid a broader wave of studios warming up to AI. Martin Scorsese recently joined AI startup Black Forest Labs as an adviser, using its tools to storyboard on an upcoming project.
Meanwhile, Netflix quietly built its own AI animation studio, INKubator, to crank out AI-generated shorts and specials. And OpenAI went even further, backing an AI-assisted animated feature called Critterz that’s heading straight for the Cannes, made on a $30 million budget using OpenAI’s own tools from start to finish.
Whatever comes out of the A24 deal, one thing is clear that even the coolest indie studios are now AI’s newest playground.
Manisha Priyadarshini is a tech and entertainment writer with over nine years of editorial experience.
Amazon pulls back from Sam Altman film ‘Artificial’ as it may have hit too close to home
Amazon MGM Studios walked away despite strong test screenings and a finished cut
Amazon MGM Studios just backed out of releasing Artificial, Luca Guadagnino’s movie about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
According to Deadline, the studio confirmed it will no longer distribute the nearly finished film, even though it had been in the works for roughly a year and had already screened well in early test audiences.
Planning to watch House of the Dragon season 3? HBO Max is offering a big discount
House of the Dragon is back, and HBO Max is making your binge watch a little cheaper
For those waiting for a perfect time to jump back into HBO Max, a fresh discount and a new season premiere of House of the Dragon might be the perfect deal. The platform is currently discounting its annual subscription plans ahead of the House of the Dragon season 3 release.
The latest season drops Sunday, June 21, at 9 pm ET/PT on HBO. It will also be available to stream on HBO Max, with eight episodes rolling out weekly. Considering how House of the Dragon is one of HBO’s biggest current shows, this deal isn’t subtle. The company is clearly looking to bring in new and returning subscribers.
Taika Waititi’s new film ‘Klara and the Sun’imagines a dystopian sci-fi future without internet,and Jenna Ortega as an android
Waititi adapts Kazuo Ishiguro’s emotional novel about love and AI
Taika Waititi’s next movie may be his most unexpected yet. The filmmaker behind Thor: Ragnarok has unveiled the first look at Klara and the Sun, his adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s bestselling 2021 novel.
Waititi tells Vanity Fair this was one of the hardest things he has tried to adapt once he started unpacking its themes of loneliness, love, and what it even means to be human.
