Arthouse Streamer Mubi Adds More than Fifty Sony Pictures Titles, Including Spielberg, Scorsese Films
Mubi will never be one of the biggest fish in the streaming pond. The arthouse film streaming service has a lane that it is more than happy to stay in, with a highly curated library of 900+ titles ranging from the works of Lars Von Trier to film festival fare, and more.
That library is getting a little bigger this week as Mubi has struck a content distribution deal with Sony, which will bring more than fifty titles owned by the studio to the service before the end of 2024. Some are available now, though each will have its own unique window on Mubi. Titles like “Bottle Rocket” by Wes Anderson, “The Age of Innocence” by Martin Scorsese, and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” by Steven Spielberg will be included in the deal.
Mubi hasn’t spent much time in the spotlight of the streaming market, but it has a passionate — if niche — audience. The service recently saw “Aftersun,” which it distributed in several countries around the globe, become its most-streamed film of all time. “Decision to Leave,” a South Korean film that was shortlisted for an Oscar nomination, was also distributed in the United States by Mubi.
Mubi offers one subscription tier, which users can access for $10.99 per month through Prime Video Channels or $12.99 if you go through the service directly. Mubi also offers Mubi Go, a $17.99 per month subscription that gives users one free movie ticket every week to select cinemas in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City, Portland, or Seattle. Mubi Go subscriptions do not come with access to Mubi’s on-demand library, however.
The deal with Mubi demonstrates Sony’s rather unique position as a content arms dealer. Many in the streaming industry have explored the possibility of licensing content to competitors in order to increase revenue, rather than hoarding all of their shows and movies on in-house platforms. Sony no longer has its own streaming service and can keep sending its content far and wide across the media landscape and raking in licensing fees in return.
Most recently, Sony came to a distribution deal with Legendary Entertainment. That deal will focus on enhancing theatrical revenues for Legendary’s films. Mubi customers won’t see any of those movies on the service any time soon, but they will start to see other movfilmsies from Sony’s catalog on the platform starting this week.
MUBI
The global curated film streaming platform features a substantial collection of 800+ films, documentaries, and shorts with a new movie added every day to the lineup. As a production company and film distributor, MUBI produces and distributes exclusive films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are only available on its platform. The streaming service is available in more than 190 countries.
Viewers can add MUBI as an Amazon Prime Video channel, so the content can be available there as well as in the MUBI app.
Students can enjoy a 30-day free trial and a discounted membership at $6.99/month.