Mubi, the movie streaming site known for showing just 30 films at a time, just got a huge boost, $100 million from big investors. The money came mostly from Sequoia Capital, the same group that helped launch Apple and Google. Now, Mubi is valued at $1 billion.
If you haven’t heard of Mubi: it’s a streaming service for serious movie lovers. Think foreign films, old classics, and artsy movies that win awards but don’t always make money. Mubi adds one hand-picked film every day and removes one, so there are always just 30 to choose from. No endless scrolling. No “Top 10 in Your Country Today.”
Mubi started in 2007. The founder, Efe Cakarel, wanted to make something special for people who love cinema (yes, he says “cinema,” not “movies”). The whole idea was simple: fewer films, better films.
But things are changing. Mubi had a big win with The Substance, a creepy horror movie with Demi Moore. It made $84 million at the box office and picked up awards. Suddenly, Mubi wasn’t just a small site for film nerds, it had a hit on its hands.
That caught Sequoia’s eye. They saw potential. Their partner, Andrew Reed, said that people everywhere actually want more arthouse films, they just don’t know it yet. That’s a bold take. But hey, they’ve been right before.
Now, Mubi is growing fast. It has over 400 employees in 15 countries. It owns two film companies. It makes its own movies. It has a magazine, a podcast, and it even runs a movie theater. Mubi wants to be more than a streaming site. It wants to be a full-on movie brand.
Cakarel says they won’t change what makes Mubi special. No giant content libraries. No algorithm-based suggestions. Just carefully chosen films. But the big question is: can a small, artsy service grow this much and still keep its soul?
Streaming giants like Netflix try to be everything for everyone. Mubi is trying to stay niche, for people who like subtitles and long, slow scenes where no one talks for five minutes. It’s a tough sell to the masses.
Still, Mubi believes in its vision. For now, it’s holding on to its style. Just 30 films, all carefully picked. No fluff. Just “cinema.” But with $100 million in the bank, it’s fair to ask: can Mubi stay cool… while getting big?
