A24 acquires Cherry Lane Theatre

After conquering the independent film and TV world, A24 ventures into live cinema. The production and distribution company has purchased the Cherry Lane Theatre, one of New York’s oldest Off-Broadway venues.

According to the submitted document On Friday at the New York Treasury Department, the venue was purchased for $10 million by a company called Cherry Lane Venue; the stated address of said company is the same as A24’s New York offices. The business came about after the venue’s longtime owner, actor Angelina Fiordelli tried to sell it In 2021, to the Lucille Lortel Theater Foundation, before the sale fell through due to price considerations. A24’s interest in the property was first reported last November.

A source familiar with the deal told IndieWire that A24 will keep the newly acquired venue for the live theater business and not for movie screenings or premieres. Cherry Lane celebrates its 100th anniversary this December.

Located at 38 Commerce Street, the building has two stages: a 179-seat main stage and a 60-seat studio. Historically, the theater was best known for hosting world premieres of plays by such great artists as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Samuel Beckett, Edward Albee, Harold Pinter and Sam Shepard. Fiordelli first purchased the site in 1996.

While A24 has no plans to turn Cherry Lane into a movie palace, its move into New York real estate is similar to Netflix’s 2019 purchase of another at-risk venue, the beloved single-screen Paris Theater in Manhattan. Netflix also owns the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles.

The news of the A24 acquisition comes after a big 2022 studio and Best Picture nominee Everything Everywhere All at Once became the highest-grossing film in its history. The studio’s other films from last year, such as Brendan Fraser-starrer “The Whale” and “Aftersun,” are also nominated for the upcoming Oscars. Film projects slated for release at the studio later this year include “Beau Is Afraid,” “Showing Up,” “The Iron Claw,” “Past Lives,” “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” “The Deepest Breath,” “The Deepest Breath’ Earth Mama’ and ‘You Hurt My Feelings’, while TV shows in development at the distributor include ‘Beef’ and ‘The Idol’.

He stopped me was first to report that A24 had purchased the Cherry Lane Theatre.

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