In cinephile circles, A24 has become a symbol of quality for a certain kind of movie: edgy, thought-provoking, stylistically bold, yet still broadly accessible. Think Ex Machina, Hereditary, Moonlight and Everything Everywhere All At Once. The studio and film distributor has grown ubiquitous enough to attract some mockery from some corners of the movie world, but it’s hard to argue with the success rate.
Its run has continued with more recent critical and commercial hits like The Brutalist, Materialists and Friendship. Now, one of the most acclaimed A24 films of the last few months is hitting streaming – and it might be one you haven’t even heard of.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, by director Rungano Nyoni, is a surreal dark comedy set in the filmmaker’s home country of Zambia. One night, a woman named Shula (Susan Chardy) comes across a dead body on the side of the road: her uncle’s. As funeral preparations commence, the narrative flashes back and forth, revealing the dark secrets of Shula’s middle-class family.
The film – Nyoni’s second, after 2017’s I Am Not a Witch – currently holds a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score and an 87 rating on Metacritic. ’s own review describes the movie as ‘thought-provoking’ and ‘visually arresting’. It’s available to stream on HBO Max starting this Friday, July 4.
Two more widely seen, if less lauded, A24 releases are also premiering on HBO Max this month.
Opus, starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich, arrives July 11. The thriller follows a young journalist (Edebiri) who’s invited to a listening party for the new album from an enigmatic pop star turned possible cult leader (Malkovich).
Later in the month comes Death of a Unicorn, a horror satire in which a father and daughter (Jason Bateman and Jenna Ortega) accidentally strike and kill the titular mythical beast with their car, incurring the wrath of its parents. The movie hits the streamer on July 25.
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