In mid-December 2025, A24's "Marty Supreme" opened on exactly six screens. Not 3,000. Six.

The result? $145,933 per screen. 92 sold-out screenings. Lines around the block. The best limited release performance in nine years.

Then on Christmas Day, it went wide to theaters nationwide. But the real story is what A24 did before that moment.

This is a masterclass in engineered demand. Not because you should limit your product availability (you probably shouldn't). But because the psychological architecture behind this launch reveals exactly how to make people want in before you even go wide.

Research from the Journal of Consumer Research shows that scarcity increases perceived value by up to 50%, but only when it's perceived as authentic, not manufactured. The key word is "perceived." A24 didn't accidentally have only six screens available. They strategically chose constraint as a launch mechanism.

Here's the loop they engineered:

Constraint creates exclusivity (6 screens, specific cities only)
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Exclusivity creates competition (people fighting for limited seats)
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Competition creates social signals (sold-out screenings, lines, people posting about getting in)
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Social signals create FOMO (if you're not talking about it, you're missing out)
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FOMO drives wider demand (now everyone wants the wide release)

Break down what A24 actually did and you find a repeatable framework for successful scarcity marketing.

They didn't just limit screens. They chose the right constraints:

The constraint wasn't arbitrary. It was designed to concentrate demand in places where social proof would amplify fastest.

A24 didn't wait for social proof to happen organically. They engineered it:

Critic proof first: 95% Rotten Tomatoes score announced early, creating expert validation
User proof second: "92 sold-out screenings" became the headline, proving consumer demand
Visible proof third: Lines around the block at pop-up shops, creating physical evidence

Each type of social proof served a different psychological function:

Research from Northwestern's Kellogg School shows that social proof is most effective when it's specific and verifiable. "92 sold-out screenings" works because it's a concrete number, not "huge demand" or "everyone's talking about it."

The Timothée Chalamet jacket campaign is the most underrated part of this launch. A24 created a physical artifact that people could talk about, wear, share, and post about.

They didn't just make a jacket. They made a jacket that:

The jacket became the conversation starter. Not "Have you seen Marty Supreme?" but "Did you see that jacket?" or "I got one of the jackets" or "I waited in line but they sold out."

A study from Wharton found that people are 67% more likely to share information about products when there's a tangible element they can show or reference. The jacket wasn't marketing. It was a shareable artifact that made the marketing happen for A24.

Consider what happened with Josh Safdie's previous film, "Uncut Gems." It launched with massive critical acclaim (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and generated enormous hype. But audiences told a different story: 52% audience score. That 39-point gap signals something critical: hype can get people in the door, but you still have to deliver.

The film still made $50M, so the scarcity-driven launch worked financially. But that audience disconnect creates long-term brand risk.

Research from the Journal of Marketing shows that when products fail to meet expectations created by scarcity-based marketing, customer backlash is 2.3x more severe than products marketed through standard channels.

The lesson here: A24's "Marty Supreme" launch is a masterclass in scarcity-driven demand engineering. But scarcity is a multiplier, not a foundation. It amplifies what's already there. If what's there is exceptional, scarcity creates explosive growth. If what's there is mediocre, scarcity accelerates disappointment.

Quality always matters most.