A24, the small studio that once built its name on risky art films, just scored a record-breaking hit with Marty Supreme. The movie, directed by Josh Safdie, has now earned more than $147 million around the world, passing the studio’s previous record-holder, Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s a big win for a company that started out as Hollywood’s underdog. Could A24 finally be turning into the very thing it once challenged?
Starring Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mauser, a 1950s table tennis prodigy who manipulates his way to the top, the film is part sports drama, part moral warning. Chalamet, who returns later this year as Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Three, seems to be at the height of his career. Viewers showed up in droves, and critics reluctantly agreed—it’s one of his best performances yet.
Before Marty Supreme took over the global box office, Everything Everywhere All at Once held the crown with $142 million, followed by Civil War with $127 million. But industry analysts say A24’s latest hit isn’t done making money yet. The film hasn’t even opened in China, where table tennis is practically a national religion. With the country sweeping gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics—and every Games since Beijing in 2008—how high could the numbers go once Chinese audiences start buying tickets?
The cast also includes Gwyneth Paltrow and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, who plays a businessman guiding Marty’s ambitions with more greed than wisdom. Their on-screen tension mirrors the real-life clash between drive and morality that has made American sports dramas a mirror for the country’s own ambitions. Does success still carry a cost, or have audiences stopped caring?
For Chalamet, this victory is more than financial. The role just won him his first Golden Globe for Best Actor, beating out veteran names like Leonardo DiCaprio for One Battle After Another, George Clooney for Jay Kelly, and Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon. That puts him in strong position heading into the 98th Academy Awards on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre. The film has nine nominations—including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor—and the odds may be leaning in Chalamet’s favor.
Still, Safdie and co-writer Ronald Bronstein could be the studio’s best shot for an Oscar. Their script competes with Sentimental Value by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, and Sinners by Ryan Coogler. Cinematographer Darius Khonji also delivered striking visuals, but with One Battle After Another featuring Michael Bauman’s unforgettable desert road sequence, it might not be enough. Even so, awards or not, A24 has already proven something: independent cinema can still hit big when it dares to play hardball.
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English (US) · 