What Is MUBI? The Alternative Streaming Service Explained

Most streaming services prioritize quantity over quality. Services like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and so on host so many movies that finding the good ones can be a challenge. The arthouse streaming service MUBI stands out from the crowd for its curation — every movie on the site has been hand-selected for quality, historical importance, and/or general artistic interest.

Current selections on MUBI include personal favorite indies selected by directors Alex Ross Perry and Amalia Ulman, dozens of award winners, horror from around the world, an impressive selection of films directed by women and LGBTQ+ filmmakers, and (in a rare foray into small-screen programming) all three seasons of "Twin Peaks." These are films you'll want to put away your phone for and pay attention to — though after you're done watching, you might want to learn more about them by reading the supplementary essays on MUBI's Notebook blog or listening to the MUBI podcast.

MUBI subscriptions cost $14.99 per month. For an additional $5 per month, subscribers can join MUBI GO, which provides one free movie ticket a week in addition to the streaming service. This is another way MUBI differs from other streaming services: it's a lot friendlier to movie theaters and actively puts the new releases it licenses on the big screen before they hit streaming.

MUBI has slowly built up its library of exclusives in North America over the past few years. Films like Park Chan-Wook's thriller "Decision to Leave," Ira Sachs' erotic drama "Passages," and Aki Kaurismäki's dry comedy "Fallen Leaves" all got some attention from arthouse audiences and awards voters.

After being dropped by Universal, Coralie Fargeat's body horror film "The Substance" became MUBI's first wide release and first huge breakout hit. Featuring a daring, transformative comeback performance from Demi Moore, "The Substance" stood out as one of the weirdest and goriest movies to ever get nominated for five Academy Awards, including best picture.

With the success of "The Substance" under its belt, MUBI is now aiming to compete with A24 and Neon as one of cinema's hottest indie brands. Upcoming major MUBI releases in North America include Alex Russell's pop star thriller "Lurker" (in theaters August 22), Kelly Reichardt's art heist film "The Mastermind" (in theaters October 17), and Lynne Ramsay's psychological drama "Die My Love," starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson (in theaters November 7).

MUBI's $1 billion valuation is in large part due to its international presence. Founded by Turkish entrepreneur Efe Çakarel, the streaming service operates around the world and has theatrical distribution operations throughout Europe and Latin America. Since indie films are often licensed by region, MUBI frequently grabs the international licenses for movies released by other studios such as A24, Neon, Amazon, or Netflix in North America.

The likes of "Suspiria," "First Cow," "Titane," "The Worst Person in the World," "Priscilla," "Perfect Days," "Emilia Pérez," and "Queer" are all MUBI releases in at least one country or another. Five films that played in competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival ("Alpha," "Sentimental Value," "The Secret Agent," "Sirāt," and the Palme d'Or winner "It Was Just an Accident") were licensed by Neon in the US but have been acquired by MUBI for release in other territories.