The Sequoia controversy cost Mubi 200,000 subscribers in 2025 and hit revenue, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on April 10.
At the end of last year, Mubi had nearly 1.2 million subscribers. The company’s internal goal had been to reach 2 million subscribers, which would mean adding 600,000 in the second half of the year – instead, it shed more than 200,000, according to the report.
The UK-headquartered company lost $7.3m on some $200m of revenue, with WSJ citing people familiar with the matter.
Mubi founder and CEO Efe Cakarel told WSJ: “Losing subscribers and growth slowing down – it was all very real,” but defended working with Sequoia “to keep backing ambitious cinema” and said Mubi added a record number of subscribers last quarter.
The streamer faced considerable backlash in 2025 over its $100m investment from Sequoia Capital, a leading Silicon Valley venture capitalist that valued Mubi at $1bn.
Employees, filmmakers and fans of the arthouse streaming, distribution and production outfit were angered over Sequoia’s ties to the Israeli military and controversial social media posts by Sequoia partner Shane Maguire. WSJ reported around 200 employees had called for the investment to be returned, but Cakarel said doing so would cause mass layoffs.
In August, Cakarel announced Mubi would create an “ethical funding and investment policy”.
WSJ reported that in November, Mubi offered three months’ salary to anyone who wanted to leave, with a dozen people taking the package, and several people being laid off.
Mubi spent big in 2025, paying $24m for Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love at Cannes, which disappointed theatrically with a gross of just $12m at the global box office. According to Cakarel in the WSJ, it performed exceptionally well on streaming.
Looking ahead, Cakarel told WSJ the company is bringing six films to Cannes this year. They include Competition titles Fatherland and Minotaur,
Un Certain Regard selection, Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma, and out-of-competition film Her Private Hell.
The report also cited that Mubi’s subscribers had reached a record 1.7 million in the first quarter of 2026 and is planning to expand into territories in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
No comments yet