What is Mubi? The movie buff’s favourite streaming service explained
Pricing, availability and content – here’s everything you need to know about the highly curated movie platform
If you take some time to look past the big beasts of the streaming service world – the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ – (all of which are available on the best streaming devices), you’ll find there’s plenty more out there that might interest you. Mubi, for instance.
Mubi is a globally available (more on that below) streaming service focussing on great movies. It goes beyond blockbusters and mainstream films. Mubi is designed to cater for cinema lovers by offering a smaller but ‘hand-picked’ selection of world cinema, indie pictures, cult classics and new arthouse releases.
Thinking of becoming a new Mubi subscriber? Here’s everything you need to know before whipping out your credit card.
What does Mubi offer?
Unlike most other streaming services, Mubi only features films; no TV shows here. It also has what it describes as a ‘hand-picked’ approach to its library. That means quality over quantity. It offers a small, highly curated selection rather than a scattergun ‘something for everyone’ strategy.
Mubi’s film line-up is divided into two distinct sections. First is the ‘Now Showing’ section, which showcases a freshly added entry each day and includes just 30 films in total. Often these are part of a themed season. Then there’s the Library, a more general section which includes a few hundred other films; about 400 in the UK and Ireland. Many of these started out in the Now Showing section before being shifted.
What movies does Mubi have?
In addition to operating a streaming platform, Mubi is also a movie distributor. It generally offers the films it distributes on the streaming service quite quickly (and exclusively) after their theatrical run starts. Recent examples include the profoundly moving British film Aftersun (for which Paul Mescal received a Best Actor Oscar nomination), horrifying Danish-Iranian serial killer thriller Holy Spider and the whimsical and acerbic Norwegian comedy-drama The Worst Person in the World.
On Mubi other current highlights include Cinema Paradiso, Paris, Texas, The Brood, Amour, The Square, The Handmaiden, Oldboy and Betty Blue. The emphasis is very much on cerebral, inventive, cult and arthouse cinema rather than easy-to-digest crowd-pleasers.
As with most streaming services, the actual line-up varies depending on the territory in which you’re currently located. Mubi is available in 195 countries around the world. If you visit another one of them your Mubi subscription will still work. Though the selection of films (and the subtitle and/or audio options) might be different.
Films are presented in HD and 4K where possible. They will generally stream at the highest quality your device and connection will allow.
How much does Mubi cost?
Mubi costs $10.99/£10.99 per month (following a free 7-day trial). Or you can pay $5.99/£9.99 if you add it to your Amazon Prime Video service as a supplemental channel.
There’s also a higher membership tier called Mubi Go. This costs £15.99/$17.99 a month and offers exactly the same plus a free cinema ticket every week. Yes, that’s a free ticket to go to an actual cinema and watch a film. Although that film has to be one that’s selected by Mubi.
Current students get a discount on their membership, paying just £6.99/$7.99 a month.
You can also opt for an annual membership for a substantial saving. $95.88/£83.88 for Mubi standard (which works out to $7.99/£6.99 per month) and $143.88/£131.88 for Mubi Go (works out at $11.99/£10.99 per month).
How can I watch Mubi?
The Mubi app is available on a wide range of devices: Android and iOS mobile devices; Apple TV HD and 4K; Sony PS4; Nvidia Shield; Amazon Fire TV; Roku; Chromecast; Android TV; LG smart TVs from 2016 onwards; and Samsung smart TVs from 2017 onwards. You can also watch on your computer via a web browser (Safari 13, Chrome 107, Firefox 90 and Edge 107 and subsequent versions are all supported).
You can watch on up to five devices in total. That includes two screens at the same time, as well as download films (in up to HD quality) to watch offline on the Android and iOS apps.
As mentioned above, Mubi is also available as an add-on channel for Amazon Prime Video. It can then be watched from anywhere you watch Prime Video content – which means it can be used on some devices not supported by the official Mubi app, like PS5 and Xbox consoles.
Sam Kieldsen
Contributor