A24 Turns Timothée Chalamet’s Star Power Into Its Most Viral Marketing Machine Yet

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s an orange Marty Supreme blimp. If you’re on social media, chances are you’ve seen Timothée Chalamet and the buzzy rollout for A24’s upcoming Josh Safdie–directed sports drama in which the 29-year-old actor plays a young man chasing fame in the world of competitive ping pong. The film also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler, The Creator, and Odessa A’zion. Since dropping its first trailer in August, A24 has steadily ramped up the marketing ahead of the film’s Christmas Day release.

Since its founding in 2012, A24 has grown from a niche indie label into a $3.5 billion company, beloved by young cinephiles for its arthouse slate and distinctive merch. At the center of its latest marketing campaign is Chalamet himself, who commands the same Gen Z demographic the studio is targeting. GQ editor Frazier Tharpe recently wrote that Chalamet is “redefining the rollout” and “making the movie-star promo cycle cool by making it weird.” (A24 hasn’t disclosed a specific budget for the Marty Supreme push.)

Chalamet has become a magnet for attention outside of his films as well. During last year’s NBA season, he went viral attending Knicks games, effectively becoming an unofficial team cheerleader during the playoffs as he sat courtside with girlfriend Kylie Jenner, director Spike Lee and a rotating cast of celebrities. His likeness also helped spark the wave of celebrity lookalike contests that swept through major cities, and he even has a dedicated social fan club dubbed “Club Chalamet.”

One of the most viral moments of the campaign came from an 18-minute video in which A24 and Chalamet staged a spoofed Zoom meeting. In it, the actor plays an egomaniac pitching increasingly absurd marketing ideas. The clip has since exploded across TikTok, Instagram Reels and X, with one moment—Chalamet shouting “Schwap!” into the camera—circulating widely.

But not all of it was just satire. A24 backed up the bit with actual orange blimps floating over Los Angeles. Disney pulled a similar stunt earlier this year, skywriting a giant “4” to promote Fantastic Four: The First Steps.

Momentum really accelerated in October at the 63rd New York Film Festival, where Safdie and Chalamet surprised audiences with a screening. Soon after, Chalamet appeared in Times Square to show fans the first 30 minutes of the film, flanked by people in black tracksuits and oversized orange ping-pong-ball masks.

Then came the Marty Supreme jackets, which went viral almost immediately. Chalamet and celebrities like Kid Cudi and Frank Ocean were photographed wearing them in different colorways.

In a GQ piece, global fashion correspondent Samuel Hine wondered whether the Marty Supreme jacket might be “the definitive garment of 2025.” Fans certainly acted like it. During a recent four-hour pop-up in New York’s SoHo, A24 sold the $250 jackets to crowds who waited for hours. Chalamet even stopped by to greet fans and hand out merch.

The jackets aren’t available on A24’s online shop, and it’s unclear if they ever will be. But the frenzy echoes the urgency of Supreme’s in-person drop model—another reminder of how effectively A24 taps into hype culture. (It’s unclear whether the campaign is inspired by Supreme.)

With clever marketing stunts and Chalamet’s box office power (his turn as Bob Dylan in Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown brought in $140.5 million worldwide, and the Dune franchise has earned over $1.14 billion globally), Marty Supreme is expected to strike box-office gold this holiday season. It’s projected to earn between $7 million and $12 million domestically over the opening weekend, in line with previous Christmas releases. Some believe it could even become A24’s highest-grossing title, though others doubt a period sports drama will break out with modern audiences.

A24’s current top performer, Everything Everywhere All at Once, grossed $145 million globally, fueled by word of mouth and its Best Picture win at the 2023 Oscars. Many awards watchers say Chalamet could be a frontrunner for Best Actor next year—momentum that could give Marty Supreme an additional boost.