One of A24's biggest hits will be streaming on Max in September

Civil War may not have had the fanfare of blockbuster franchises like Dune or Deadpool & Wolverine, but the film was more successful that one might think. Thanks to the conversation drummed by the premise, and the bold stylistic choices made by writer/director Alex Garland, Civil War went on to gross over $120 million at the global box office.

And now, it's coming to Max. Civil War will be available to stream exclusively on the platform starting September 13. A24, the studio behind Civil War, recently struck a deal with Max in which most of its catalog would be made available to subscribers. This, of course, means access to a fantastic run of earlier releases, but Alex Garland's film is unique, even for A24.

Civil War marked A24's first venture into 'blockbusters'

Civil War cost $50 million, which is the highest budget for any A24 film to date. The studio made it clear that they wanted to venture into bigger releases. The studio said as much in an October 2023 statement. A distribution executive told TheWrap that the days of indie success were over for the studio, and that the emphasis will now be on more broadly appealing films.

"Everyone in the independent film space is aware that A24 needs to pivot to more commercial films alongside its arthouse slate," the exec stated. "With a $2.5 billion valuation, it’s pretty obvious that they need to expand into more commercial films."

It's the second highest grossing film in A24 history

Civil War is the first step towards something "bigger." It has a bigger budget, a notable cast of stars and an emphasis on scale that previous A24 films have not. The gamble more or less worked. Despite receiving mixed to positive reviews, Civil War proved to be a hit. It now stands as the second highest grossing film in the studio's history.

The highest grossing film, Everything Everywhere All at Once, managed to take in $143 million on its way to winning Best Picture. Civil War did not earn the universal praise that Everything did, but it looks as though it will be the first step in a new era for cinephiles' favorite independent studio.