 | |
Type of site | |
|---|---|
| Available in | |
| Headquarters | London, England |
| Founder | Efe Cakarel |
| Key people | Efe Cakarel (Founder & CEO) |
| URL | mubi |
| Users | 20 million (May 2025) |
| Launched | February 14, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-02-14) |
| Current status | Active |
Mubi (/ˈmuːbi/; styledMUBI; known asThe Auteurs until 2010) is a British streaming platform,production company andfilm distributor. Mubi produces[1] and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusively available on its platform. The catalogue consists ofworld cinema films, such asarthouse,documentary andindependent films.[2] Additionally, it publishesNotebook, a film criticism and news publication, and provides weekly cinema tickets to selected new-release films through Mubi Go.
Mubi's streaming platform is available in over 190 countries through its website, or usingAndroid TV,Chromecast,Roku devices,Apple Vision Pro,PlayStation consoles,[3]Amazon Fire TV,Apple TV,[4]LG orSamsung Smart TVs,[5] or mobile devices includingiPhone,iPad[6] andAndroid.[7]
The Auteurs was founded in 2007 byTurkish entrepreneurEfe Çakarel. The next year, in 2008, the Americanhome-video distribution companyCriterion Collection partnered with The Auteurs to begin avideo-on-demand service.[8]
In 2010, The Auteurs changed its name to "Mubi" or "MUBI",[9] a two-syllable word with no specific meaning thatrhymes with "movie",[10] its creators stating that they wanted "a name all audiences can say and spell, without the burden of exclusionary meaning."[9]
In January 2022, Mubi announced the acquisition ofarthouse cinema production and sales company The Match Factory.[11]
Prior to the79th Venice International Film Festival world premiere, Mubi entered the TV industry by acquiringThe Kingdom Exodusminiseries and bringing out the first two seasons ofthe original series indirector's cuts.[12]
In 2023, the company announcedMubi Fest, its annual film festival, to be held inChile,Colombia,Argentina,Mexico andBrazil. The event was expanded to cities in Europe, the United States and Canada a year later.[13]
In February 2024, Mubi acquired a majority stake in Benelux distributor Cinéart.[14]
On September 20, 2024, Mubi releasedThe Substance in theaters worldwide and received critical and commercial success, grossed $77 million as their highest grossing film ever, which received aCannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay,Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy out of 5 nominations at82nd Golden Globe Awards, 5Academy Award nominations forBest Picture,Best Director,Best Original Screenplay,Best Actress, andBest Makeup and Hairstyling at the97th Academy Awards,[15] 5 nominations at the78th British Academy Film Awards.
In February 2025,The New York Times published a major profile piece on Mubi and Efe Çakarel, positioning Mubi as "a real Hollywood player" following the success ofThe Substance.[16]
At theCannes Film Festival in May 2025, Mubi made their largest acquisition to date, as well as the largest deal closed at the festival that year, by paying $24m for distribution rights across multiple territories toLynne Ramsay's filmDie My Love, starringJennifer Lawrence andRobert Pattinson.[17][18]
Mubi set a 31 October 2025 date for the company's debut as a direct distributor in the Spanish market with the release ofThe Mastermind.[19][20] The company had previously relied on third parties such asElastica Films, Avalon,A Contracorriente Films, orFilmin for the distribution of its portfolio in Spain.[20]
Mubi's International film publication named Notebook, is composed of daily online publications freely accessible via the website (same as streaming), which has been an essential part of the website's relevance as a curated cinema streaming service.[21]
The online publication includes a wide variety of coverage of cinema from interviews, features, columns, news, as well as coverage of selected major film festival such asCannes,Berlinale,Toronto,Sundance andRotterdam.
Since 2009, the publication has featured an ongoing column named "Movie Poster of the Week" by writer Adrian Curry, which curates and discusses mostly contemporary movie posters. The column's focus allows space to discuss and highlight many territory-specific posters of well-known films around the globe.[22]
The publication is also known for its focus on a wider range of world cinema and highlight of independent, artist-driven, and experimental cinema. Since its beginning in 2009 its contributors have often published writings on sections from major film festivals that are often ignored by other publications such asToronto International Film Festival's Wavelengths, theBerlinale Forum Expanded, and theNew York Film Festival sections Views from the Avant-Garde (until 2013), Projections (2014–2018), and more Currents (2019–). Throughout the years, the most consistent coverages of these sections in MUBI Notebook has been made by writers Michael Sicinski[23] and David Hudson.[24]
In the same form as other online publications of cinema and art at large, MUBI Notebook, is open to the public for pitching and it states its pitching guidelines very clearly on its website.[25]
In 2021 Mubi launched theNotebook Magazine (ISSN 2769-7681), an editorially independent semiannual print magazine with limited sale.[26] The magazines are sold globally via both a subscription service (purchased separately from the streaming service) and in selected bookstores around the world.[27] The magazine is only available in English language[28] and has no digital archive or version available.[29]
Since issue 4, Mubi states that "Each issue will come with an exclusive surprise, just for subscribers."
The magazine has published editions with articles, interviews, and often with special materials written by filmmakers themselves. The magazine's focus is based on themes and has highlighted the work of filmmakers, artists, writers and industry professionals with thematic resonance to the edition's focus. Some of the highlighted professionals includeYasujirō Ozu,Apichatpong Weerasethakul,Emma Seligman,Mike Leigh,Ryusuke Hamaguchi,Park Chan-wook,Jean-Luc Godard,Tsai Ming-liang,Pedro Costa,Alejandro Jodorowsky,Tacita Dean andSergei Loznitsa, among many others.
In issue 3, Mubi began a muti-issue series named "Things a Filmmaker Should Know" inaugurated byTsai Ming-liang. Which since has been followed by contributions fromPedro Costa (issue 4),Tacita Dean (issue 5),Sergei Loznitsa (issue 5),Amalia Ulman (issue 6),Payal Kapadia (issue 6) andKevin Jerome Everson (issue 7).
| Issue | Title | Information | Cover design | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | For the Cinema to Come |
| The subscriber edition included aNotebook tote bag and a black fabric folio holder for the magazine. | [30] | |
| 1 | You Start Anywhere and End Up Anywhere |
| [31] | ||
| 2 | We Traveled a Lot... |
| Two different covers, each featuring a photograph by Park Chan-wook. | ||
| 3 | The Flap of a Butterfly's Wings |
| |||
| 4 | Film is Definitely Not a "Visual Medium" |
| Featured film frames byPeter Tscherkassky | Subscriber surprise included a seven-inch record featuring a song by filmmakerGus Van Sant and a field recording by sound designerLeslie Shatz. | |
| 5 | Step 1: Hold Magazine in Your Hands |
| The front and back covers are designed by John Wilson, the creator ofHow To with John Wilson. | Subscriber surprise included a make-your-own papercraft model by artist Ellie Sampson. (based on never-before-seen drawings by Max Douy fromAlejandro Jodorowsky's legendary but ill-fated adaptation ofDune.) | |
| 6 | In the Moment of Match-Strike |
| |||
| 7 | Threshold of the Visible |
| Deborah Stratman shows how an excess of light can transform an image | In a bound insert, author Mark Leyner shares a novelistic treatment for a film that was never made,8W, a singular and wildly funny prose fantasia. |
In 2021, Mubi launched two original podcasts. An English language podcast calledMubi Podcast[32] produced and hosted byRico Gagliano, and a Spanish language podcast titledMubi Podcast: Encuentros,[33] produced in collaboration with La Corriente del Golfo, the production house founded byGael García Bernal andDiego Luna. In 2023, Mubi launched an Italian-language podcast,Mubi Podcast: Voci Italiane Contemporanee, in collaboration with Chora Media, hosted by critic Gianmaria Tammaro.[34]
Mubi productions and co-productions include:
Mubi is also a film distributor. In addition to releasing films on the platform, it started distributing theatrically in theUnited States andUnited Kingdom in 2016, inLatin America andGermany in 2021, and inItaly andSpain in 2025.
In May 2025, the venture capital firmSequoia Capital invested $100 million in Mubi, valuing the company at $1 billion.[18] However, the investment has sparked significant backlash due to Sequoia's ties to Kela, an Israeli defence-tech startup founded by former intelligence officers during theGaza invasion. Critics, including Film Workers for Palestine and supporters of theBDS movement, have condemned Mubi's decision, calling for boycotts and demanding the company return the funds. Mubi has responded by distancing itself from the views of its investors, stating that the partnership aimed to support its global mission in independent cinema.[36]
In an open letter written for the press on August 14, 2025, Efe addressed the issue by stating that Mubi is not directly tied with the firm while condemning the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and reaffirmed support for peace, dignity and freedom for all people. To avoid confusion and anger, Mubi launched an Ethical Funding and Investment Policy along with the Artists Advisory Council; while expanding their Artists At Risk Fund "to support filmmakers under conflict, displacement, or censorship through commissions, residencies, and restoration projects".[37]
