Google is investing $75 million in the film studio A24 as part of a joint AI research partnership, according to The Wall Street Journal. The deal is meant to help develop new tools for making and distributing movies, and it is Google’s first investment in a movie studio.
A24 completed a roughly similar financing round in 2024 led by Thrive Capital at a $3.5 billion valuation. The studio is known for cult and award-winning films such as "Marty Supreme" and "Everything Everywhere All at Once," as well as the recent horror hit Backrooms.
Backrooms generated nearly $250 million on a $10 million budget and grew out of a popular YouTube series that filmmaker Kane Parsons, now 21, began shooting and sharing at age 17. Google’s broader entertainment business is already large through YouTube, but this partnership marks a new step into film production.
Under the agreement, A24 will work with Google DeepMind. The companies said they want to build AI tools for production and distribution, even though such collaborations remain rare. Scott Belsky of A24 said filmmakers have resisted AI because developers often pitch it as a way to make films faster and cheaper, adding, "We think there are better uses, ones that preserve creative control and support risk-taking." Eli Collins, a vice president at DeepMind, said, "We believe breakthroughs happen when you put technology in the hands of the best minds in the field."
