The real reason A24 movies like You Can See Everything take so long to reach cinemas outside the US

If you live outside the United States, by the time an A24 film reaches your local cinema, you may already know far more about it than you wanted to.

Often, reviews have been out for months, memes are circulating on social media and American fans are posting long TikToks and reels discussing an ending you are still trying to avoid. That is the situation facing many prospective fans of You Can See Everything, Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary about the disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.

It has earned an estimated $45.1 million in North America in two weeks, but has not yet been released anywhere else. Australian, New Zealand and British audiences will wait until November, but much f the rest of the world, including the UAE, is yet to receive a release date.

If a film is attracting that much attention, why is it taking so long to reach audiences elsewhere? The answer begins with how movies reach cinemas to begin with: through distributors.

An A24 release can involve different distribution companies in different countries, each with its own costs, campaign and opening date. The company’s American success can help persuade overseas buyers to take a chance, but bringing a film to their cinemas requires a separate commercial calculation.

Who decides whether an A24 film comes here?

Show caption: Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme. Photo: A24 via AP

In many overseas markets, A24 sells distribution rights to another company, which then arranges the local release and promotion. That gives A24 income from the film while placing the cost of releasing it with the buyer.

Recent Middle East deals show how much the partners can vary. Front Row acquired regional rights to The Smashing Machine. Sony bought international rights covering the region to Materialists and Bring Her Back, having previously acquired Middle East rights to Beau Is Afraid.

Vox Cinemas has also worked with A24 for direct distribution. Box Office Mojo lists it as the UAE distributor of Marty Supreme and Backrooms, without a separate distributor logo listed on marketing materials.

And while it's more famous now for being a production company, sometimes A24 is itself solely a distributor. The Australian horror hit Talk to Me was sold internationally by Bankside Films, which struck separate deals with A24 for North America and Front Row for the Middle East.

An A24 logo on a trailer therefore tells you less about a film’s international release than you might expect.

Why can’t the films open everywhere at the same time?

Show caption: Backrooms is one of the few A24 films to be released in the …

They sometimes do. Kane Parsons’ horror film Backrooms opened in the UAE in May, a day before its US release. The Smashing Machine also reached UAE cinemas alongside its American opening last year.

There are agreements covering several films, too. In February last year, Nordisk Film announced a partnership covering six A24 titles in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, including Warfare, Eddington and Marty Supreme. A24 handles some releases itself in markets including Britain and Australia.

But securing the rights and getting a film into cinemas are separate stages. Distributors need time to prepare campaigns and find a place in schedules crowded with competing releases.

In its examination of You Can See Everything, Variety identified the short turnaround following the documentary’s surprise unveiling as one possible explanation for the staggered release. A24 declined to provide comment to the publication on its strategy.

Delays can also reflect a distributor’s judgment about when a film has the best chance of finding an audience, and how big of an audience it may have. A horror film like Backrooms, which had a built-in global fandom thanks to its YouTube presence, is perhaps an easier sell than a documentary that is building buzz through word of mouth.

Surely there are enough A24 fans to make it worthwhile?

A devoted following helps, but it does not make every film a safe bet.

TheWrap reported that 70 per cent of You Can See Everything’s US opening-weekend audience was under 35. An audience poll supplied by A24 also found that 70 per cent of respondents named Fielder as a major reason for buying a ticket. His following is clearly part of this film’s appeal; another A24 title may draw a different audience.

A distributor has to estimate how that interest will translate into revenue in its own market, weighed against the rights fee and release costs.

The Smashing Machine, starring Dwayne Johnson as mixed martial artist Mark Kerr, illustrates the risk. Director Benny Safdie put its production budget at $49 million in an interview with Filmmaker. It earned about $21.1 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Those are gross ticket sales, of which cinemas retain a share.

Variety reported last October that A24 had reduced its exposure by selling foreign rights. Rival executives estimated that overseas partners would bear most of the losses, although individual distributors’ accounts were not disclosed.

“They may not want to come back to the well again,” one unnamed rival independent-film executive said.

There are successes, too. Celine Song’s Materialists earned more than $100 million worldwide, with roughly two-thirds coming from outside North America, including about $1.2 million in the UAE. A24’s films can find substantial international audiences, but the results vary enough to make each acquisition a separate bet.

Doesn’t waiting risk losing the audience?

Show caption: Robert Pattinson's film Primetime has garnered significant i…

That concern has been raised by distributors themselves.

Everything Everywhere All at Once reached French cinemas in August 2022, more than five months after its US opening. Speaking to Le Parisien the following year, Tristan Dulaz, founder of French co-distributor Originals Factory, said piracy had cost the film potential admissions.

The newspaper described A24 as a tough negotiator in overseas sales. “The more time passes in negotiations, the longer the film takes to come out,” Dulaz said, in comments translated from French. “But with A24, there is now progress.”

Local choices also contributed to the wait. France Inter reported that Originals Factory selected a late-summer opening in the hope of finding a better slot.

American digital releases can further complicate the timing. Variety reported that British previews of Oppenheim’s Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson, would begin on October 28, only days before its US video-on-demand release. Viewers in one country can be preparing to watch a film at home while those elsewhere are still waiting for it to reach cinemas.

Will You Can See Everything come to the UAE?

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has bought rights covering the Middle East, according to Deadline. It has also acquired regional rights to Primetime. Neither film has an announced UAE cinema date.

Recent releases show how widely the wait can vary, even with the same local distributor. Vox’s UAE release of Marty Supreme came in March, months after its American debut, while Backrooms arrived alongside its US launch.

Sony’s acquisition gives both You Can See Everything and Primetime a route to the region. The next step for UAE audiences is a local release announcement confirming when and where they can watch them.