Delayed gratification

As Emmy-nominated TV and highly anticipated films show in the US months ahead of the UK, we'd better get used to it, says Al Horner. Those in the biz reveal why there's a holdup

- By Al Horner

Is “A24” an abbreviation? Might the name of the cult American indie film studio – behind modern classics including Everything Everywhere All At Once and Uncut Gems – actually stand for “A 24-Month Delay for the Brits”? UK cinephiles would certainly have you believe so. While A24 has become one of the most recognisable brands in movie-making since its launch in 2012, again and again, British filmgoers are made to wait for their releases.

The latest example of this is Friendship, a brilliant new black comedy starring Paul Rudd and the I Think You Should Leave star Tim Robinson. The film arrives in UK cinemas this month, eight weeks after Americans first began logging it on their Letterboxd accounts.

Eight weeks is actually a pretty snappy turnaround by A24 standards. In 2023, 98 days passed between Past Lives’ US release and its debut on UK screens. It was 119 for Barry Jenkins’ 2016 masterwork Moonlight. As for 2022’s Marcel the Shell with Shoes On? 238 days — a fittingly slow crawl across the Atlantic for a tale about an animated snail carapace. Alright, it’s not quite “A 24-Month Delay”, typically facing UK fans of the indie powerhouse. But in a borderless, lightning-paced online era where pop culture consumers are accustomed to instantaneous gratification, it can certainly feel that way.

Friendship isn’t the only example of A24 staggering their international releases this summer. Materialists, the new Celine Song romantic drama starring Dakota Johnson, hits UK cinemas on 15 August, having been entertaining US audiences since 13 June. The new Philippou brothers film Bring Her Back - their followup to the ghoulish thriller Talk to Me - is similarly enduring a two-month layover between destinations. But it’s not just A24. Want to see