A24's $75 million AI partnership with Google DeepMind triggers a fan revolt

A24 built its identity on being the studio that never compromised for a corporate partner, so this deal cuts against the brand its own fans spent a decade buying into. The backlash shows how differently audiences and studios now weigh AI: A24 frames this as shaping the tools before someone else does, while its fanbase reads any AI tie up as a betrayal regardless of the safeguards attached. It is an early preview of the reputational tax that even beloved, non tech companies may pay for public AI partnerships.