15 Underrated A24 Movies You Probably Missed (May 2026)

Everyone knows the A24 heavyweights. Everything Everywhere All at Once swept the Oscars. Hereditary and Midsommar terrified a generation. Moonlight won Best Picture in one of the most memorable award moments ever.

But here’s what most film fans miss: A24 has released over 100 films since 2012. For every Lady Bird that breaks through, there are a dozen underrated A24 movies that barely register on the cultural radar. These hidden gems A24 quietly distributed deserve your attention.

I’ve spent the last three months working through the complete A24 film catalog. The Reddit r/A24 community pointed me toward several titles I’d never heard mentioned in mainstream conversations. What I discovered changed how I think about independent cinema. Some of these films hit harder than the studio’s biggest hits.

This guide covers 15 underrated indie movies from A24 that you probably missed. Each entry includes where to stream, critical scores, and why the film deserves a spot on your watchlist.

Quick Picks: The 3 Most Underrated A24 Films

Before diving into the full list, here are three consensus picks from film communities that consistently fly under the radar.

C’mon C’mon (2021) – Mike Mills directed this black-and-white drama starring Joaquin Phoenix as a radio journalist who unexpectedly becomes guardian to his young nephew. The r/A24 community describes it as “like a warm hug that also makes you cry.” It earned a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score but grossed only $4 million worldwide. Available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) – Joe Talbot’s directorial debut follows a young man trying to reclaim his childhood home in a rapidly gentrifying city. The film features stunning visual poetry and one of the most distinctive scores in recent memory. It holds 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. Stream it on Kanopy or rent on Amazon.

Under the Silver Lake (2018) – David Robert Mitchell’s follow-up to It Follows bombed at the box office but has developed a passionate cult following. Andrew Garfield stars in this neo-noir conspiracy thriller about a man searching for his missing neighbor across Los Angeles. The Reddit community calls it “so under-appreciated in general.” Currently streaming on Showtime and Paramount+.

15 Underrated A24 Movies You Probably Missed in 2026

These films represent the breadth of A24’s catalog. Each entry includes director information, streaming availability, critical scores, and why the film remains overlooked despite its quality.

1. C’mon C’mon (2021) – The Emotional Black-and-White Masterpiece

Mike Mills crafted one of the most affecting films about adult-child relationships in recent memory. Joaquin Phoenix plays Johnny, a radio journalist traveling the country interviewing children about their hopes and fears for the future. When his sister needs help, he becomes temporary guardian to his nephew Jesse.

The black-and-white cinematography by Robbie Ryan creates an intimate documentary feel that matches the film’s themes. Woody Norman delivers one of the best child performances in years as Jesse. The conversations between uncle and nephew feel improvised and authentic, though Mills scripted every word.

Why it’s underrated: The monochrome palette and quiet pacing put off viewers expecting a traditional Phoenix performance. This isn’t Joker. It’s something gentler and arguably more profound. The film grossed just $4.3 million against a $3.4 million budget despite the Oscar winner’s presence.

Critical Scores: 94% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.4/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Kanopy

2. The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) – Visual Poetry About Home

Jimmie Fails plays a fictionalized version of himself in Joe Talbot’s stunning debut. He spends his days skating through San Francisco, touching up a Victorian house his grandfather supposedly built. When the current owners leave during a dispute, Jimmie and his best friend Mont move in.

The film tackles gentrification, identity, and friendship without ever feeling preachy. Emile Mosseri’s score incorporates gospel, classical, and ambient elements into something entirely unique. Every frame could hang in a gallery. Talbot and Fails grew up together, and their collaboration produces authentic San Francisco texture that big productions rarely capture.

Why it’s underrated: Released the same year as Midsommar, The Lighthouse, and Uncut Gems, it got lost in A24’s banner 2019 lineup. The slower pace and poetic structure alienated viewers wanting plot-driven narratives.

Critical Scores: 91% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Kanopy, Amazon Prime Video (rental)

3. Under the Silver Lake (2018) – The Conspiracy Thriller That Demands Multiple Viewings

David Robert Mitchell followed his horror breakthrough It Follows with something completely different. Andrew Garfield plays Sam, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker who becomes obsessed with finding his missing neighbor Sarah. His investigation leads him through underground tunnels, secret codes in music, and a conspiracy involving LA’s richest residents.

The film bombed at Cannes and received a limited theatrical release before hitting VOD. Critics called it indulgent and pretentious. Viewer consensus has shifted dramatically since then. The film rewards repeat viewings with its dense symbolism and cryptic puzzle-box structure.

Why it’s underrated: The theatrical release strategy buried this film. A24 essentially gave up on it after Cannes. Garfield’s committed performance and Mitchell’s audacious storytelling create something genuinely unique in modern American cinema. It’s the kind of film that generates obsessive Reddit threads decoding its mysteries.

Critical Scores: 59% Rotten Tomatoes, 6.5/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Showtime, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video

4. First Cow (2019) – Slow Cinema at Its Most Rewarding

Kelly Reichardt’s Oregon Territory drama follows a baker and a Chinese immigrant who steal milk from the region’s only cow to make biscuits for sale. The setup sounds comedic. The execution is quietly devastating.

John Magaro and Orion Lee deliver understated performances as two men forming a tender friendship against the backdrop of American expansion. Reichardt’s camera lingers on cooking processes, forest landscapes, and the rhythm of daily survival. The cow herself becomes a character worth caring about.

Why it’s underrated: Reichardt’s deliberately slow pace frustrates viewers wanting conventional narratives. The film requires patience that streaming algorithms don’t encourage. Released during A24’s crowded 2019 slate, it never found the audience it deserved despite near-universal critical acclaim.

Critical Scores: 96% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.1/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Showtime, Kanopy, Paramount+

5. American Honey (2016) – The Road Trip That Changes Everything

Andrea Arnold cast newcomer Sasha Lane as Star, a teenager who joins a traveling magazine sales crew crisscrossing the American Midwest. Shia LaBeouf plays Jake, the group’s top seller who recruits Star into their chaotic lifestyle. The film runs nearly three hours but never feels long.

Arnold shot in 4:3 aspect ratio, giving every frame an intimate, almost claustrophobic feel. The cast mixes professionals with actual traveling sales kids. The soundtrack features Rihanna, E-40, and Bruce Springsteen blasting from cheap car speakers. It’s a sensory experience that captures a specific American subculture rarely seen on screen.

Why it’s underrated: The length and loose structure scared off casual viewers. Some critics found it exploitative despite Arnold’s collaborative approach with her non-professional cast. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes but barely made $1 million domestically.

Critical Scores: 80% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.0/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi (with ads)

6. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) – Greek Tragedy in Modern Ohio

Yorgos Lanthimos brought his deadpan surrealism to America with this disturbing family drama. Colin Farrell plays a cardiac surgeon whose family falls under the curse of a teenage boy seeking revenge for his father’s death. Nicole Kidman plays his wife.

The film operates like a Greek tragedy transplanted to suburban Ohio. Characters speak in formal, stilted dialogue that creates constant unease. Barry Keoghan delivers a career-defining performance as the vengeful Martin. The central moral dilemma will haunt you for days.

Why it’s underrated: Lanthimos’s The Favourite and Poor Things reached wider audiences with their period settings and star power. This earlier American film confused viewers expecting conventional horror. The disturbing content and ambiguous ending divided audiences at Cannes and beyond.

Critical Scores: 80% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.0/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video

7. Waves (2019) – The Film That Changes Aspect Ratios

Trey Edward Shults follows a suburban Florida family through tragedy and attempted reconciliation. Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays Tyler, a high school wrestler struggling with injury, grades, and his girlfriend’s pregnancy. The film’s second half shifts focus to his sister Emily, played by Taylor Russell.

Shults and cinematographer Drew Daniels shift aspect ratios throughout the film to match emotional states. The opening 1.85:1 widescreen gives way to tighter 1.33:1 academy ratio during crisis moments. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross provide a score that mixes their electronic signatures with ambient textures. The result is technically dazzling and emotionally overwhelming.

Why it’s underrated: The abrupt narrative shift in the middle alienates some viewers. Others find the visual flourishes distracting rather than enhancing. Released during A24’s peak 2019 period, it competed against its own studio’s bigger titles.

Critical Scores: 84% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi (with ads)

8. Krisha (2015) – The Thanksgiving From Hell

Trey Edward Shults made his feature debut with this micro-budget family drama shot in his parents’ Texas home. Krisha Fairchild plays a recovering addict who joins her extended family for Thanksgiving dinner after years of absence. The tension escalates with nearly unbearable intensity.

Shults edited the film to a ticking-clock rhythm, with music and sound design creating constant anxiety. The mostly non-professional cast includes actual family members. The r/A24 community frequently mentions this as the studio’s most underseen great film. It proves you don’t need budget to create powerful cinema.

Why it’s underrated: Shot for under $100,000 with no recognizable stars, it disappeared quickly from theaters. The uncomfortable family dynamics hit too close to home for some viewers. Without the marketing push of A24’s later acquisitions, it relied entirely on word of mouth.

Critical Scores: 95% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.1/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy

9. First Reformed (2017) – Environmental Dread Meets Spiritual Crisis

Paul Schrader returned to form with this rigorous character study. Ethan Hawke plays Reverend Ernst Toller, a former military chaplain running a small historic church in upstate New York. When a pregnant parishioner asks him to counsel her radical environmentalist husband, Toller’s faith and sanity begin unraveling.

Schrader channels his own Taxi Driver screenplay through a theological lens. The 1.37:1 aspect ratio creates a box-like frame that emphasizes Hawke’s physical deterioration. The ending remains one of the most debated in recent American cinema. Hawke delivers what many consider his career-best performance.

Why it’s underrated: The religious themes and slow pacing limit its audience. Schrader’s austere style alienates viewers wanting conventional drama. Despite winning awards at Venice and from the National Society of Film Critics, it barely crossed $3 million at the box office.

Critical Scores: 93% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.1/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Kanopy, Amazon Prime Video, Tubi

10. 20th Century Women (2016) – A Love Letter to 1979 Santa Barbara

Mike Mills based this semi-autobiographical film on his own upbringing. Annette Bening plays Dorothea, a single mother in her mid-fifts raising her teenage son Jamie with help from two boarders: punk photographer Abbie and mellow handyman Julie.

Bening received an Oscar nomination for her nuanced portrayal of a woman trying to understand a changing world. The film captures 1979 California with documentary precision while maintaining emotional warmth. Greta Gerwig and Elle Fanning provide excellent support. Mills structures the film as a series of memory fragments that somehow cohere into something deeply moving.

Why it’s underrated: Released during a crowded awards season, it got overshadowed by bigger campaigns. The fragmented structure and voiceover narration feel unconventional. Some viewers mistake its gentleness for slightness when it’s actually examining profound generational change.

Critical Scores: 90% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+

11. Red Rocket (2021) – The Unlikely Charmer You Shouldn’t Root For

Sean Baker follows The Florida Project with this character study of Mikey Saber, a washed-up adult film star who returns to his Texas City hometown. Simon Rex delivers a magnetic performance as a character who should be repellent but somehow wins you over through sheer force of personality.

Baker shot during the pandemic with a skeleton crew and non-professional locals filling supporting roles. The film captures the specific texture of Gulf Coast Texas in ways that feel documentary-real. Suzanna Son plays Strawberry, a young donut shop worker who becomes Mikey’s ticket back to Los Angeles. Their relationship walks uncomfortable ethical lines that the film refuses to judge.

Why it’s underrated: The subject matter and unlikable protagonist scared off mainstream audiences. Released during the pandemic’s theatrical recovery, it never found its footing. The Reddit community describes it as “what should be a very sad movie told from any other angle, is actually…” compelling and oddly uplifting.

Critical Scores: 90% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.0/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Showtime, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video

12. Enemy (2014) – The Mind-Bending Toronto Doppelganger Thriller

Denis Villeneuve made this small-scale psychological thriller between Prisoners and Sicario. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Adam Bell, a history professor who discovers his exact double appearing in a movie rental. His investigation leads him to Anthony Claire, a struggling actor with a pregnant wife.

The film operates as a Kafkaesque nightmare about identity and masculinity. Gyllenhaal differentiates the two characters through subtle physical and vocal shifts. The Toronto setting feels alien and oppressive through Nicolas Bolduc’s yellow-filtered cinematography. The ending remains one of modern cinema’s most shocking final images.

Why it’s underrated: Villeneuve’s subsequent Hollywood blockbusters overshadowed this early A24 collaboration. The opaque symbolism and surreal imagery frustrate viewers wanting clear explanations. It barely grossed $3 million worldwide despite Villeneuve’s rising profile.

Critical Scores: 71% Rotten Tomatoes, 6.9/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Tubi

13. Zola (2020) – The Twitter Thread Becomes Cinema

Janicza Bravo adapted Aziah “Zola” King’s infamous 148-tweet thread about a disastrous Florida road trip into this wild cinematic experience. Taylour Paige plays Zola, a Detroit waitress who joins a new friend on a trip to Tampa that involves stripping, kidnapping, and attempted murder.

The film captures the absurdity and danger of King’s original story while adding visual poetry that only cinema can provide. Riley Keough delivers a scene-stealing performance as the unstable Stefani. The film plays with time, perspective, and unreliable narration in ways that honor its social media origins while transcending them.

Why it’s underrated: The pandemic release killed any momentum from Sundance buzz. The Twitter origin story made some critics dismiss it as a gimmick. The chaotic structure and dark comedy elements don’t fit conventional genre expectations. Reddit users recommend watching it twice to catch all the details.

Critical Scores: 88% Rotten Tomatoes, 6.5/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Showtime, Paramount+, Hulu

14. Green Room (2015) – Punk Rock vs. Neo-Nazis

Jeremy Saulnier’s siege thriller follows a struggling punk band who witness a murder at a remote Oregon venue run by white supremacists. Patrick Stewart plays Darcy Banker, the calmly menacing leader who must eliminate the witnesses. Anton Yelchin leads the band as bassist Pat.

Saulnier combines punk ethos with classic thriller mechanics. The violence feels brutal and earned rather than exploitative. Imogen Poots plays Amber, a skinhead who switches sides when she realizes the situation’s severity. The practical gore effects and claustrophobic setting create sustained tension that never lets up.

Why it’s underrated: Released the same year as Ex Machina, it got overshadowed by A24’s bigger sci-fi hit. The extreme violence limits its audience. Some viewers mistake its genre trappings for simplicity when it’s actually meticulously constructed.

Critical Scores: 91% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.0/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy

15. The Souvenir Part II (2021) – Meta-Cinema About Making Cinema

Joanna Hogg concludes her autobiographical diptych with this film about film school. Honor Swinton Byrne returns as Julie, now processing her abusive relationship through the production of her graduation film. The movie-within-a-movie structure sounds pretentious but plays as genuinely moving.

Hogg blurs the lines between her own experiences, her fictional Julie’s life, and the film Julie is making. Richard Ayoade appears as an acidic fellow student who serves as Julie’s unlikely mentor. The film explores grief, artistic ambition, and the process of turning trauma into something meaningful.

Why it’s underrated: Sequel to a film that was already niche. The meta-narrative complexity requires having seen The Souvenir. Released during the pandemic with limited theatrical availability. Some critics found it too self-reflexive.

Critical Scores: 96% Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5/10 IMDb
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy

How to Watch These Hidden Gems

Finding these films requires more effort than opening Netflix. Most A24 hidden gems live on specialty streaming services or require rental fees. Here’s where to start your search.

Best Streaming Services for A24 Films

Kanopy offers the most A24 titles for free with a library card. The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Krisha, First Reformed, and Green Room all stream there. If you have a university affiliation, this is your best resource.

Showtime/Paramount+ carries several recent acquisitions including First Cow, Red Rocket, and Under the Silver Lake. The combined service offers good value for A24 completionists.

Amazon Prime Video has the largest rental selection. Every film on this list is available for $3-5 rental fees if you can’t find them subscription streaming.

Mood-Based Recommendations

For when you need comfort: C’mon C’mon and 20th Century Women provide emotional warmth without sentimentality. Both end on notes of hard-won hope.

For when you want to be challenged: Under the Silver Lake, Enemy, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer reward active viewing and multiple watches. Prepare to take notes and search Reddit threads afterward.

For when you want to discover new directors: Krisha introduces Trey Edward Shults, The Last Black Man in San Francisco showcases Joe Talbot, and First Cow represents peak Kelly Reichardt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

A24 has built its reputation on bold choices and distinctive filmmaking. While their Oscar winners and horror hits dominate the conversation, these underrated A24 movies represent the studio’s true breadth. From Kelly Reichardt’s quiet frontier drama to Janicza Bravo’s Twitter-thread adaptation, the catalog rewards curious viewers willing to look beyond the obvious.

My recommendation for 2026: start with C’mon C’mon if you want emotional connection, Under the Silver Lake if you want a puzzle to solve, or Krisha if you want to see what pure artistic vision looks like on a shoestring budget. Each offers something no other studio is producing right now.

The r/A24 community continues championing these underseen titles. Their enthusiasm isn’t performative cinephile posturing. These films genuinely deserve larger audiences. Your watchlist just got 15 entries longer.