U.K. Exhibitor Picturehouse Teams With VOD Service MUBI

LONDON – U.K. exhibition group Picturehouse Cinemas has inked a deal with the subscription video-on-demand platform MUBI to offer consumers 90 days of free access to the service as part of their Picturehouse annual membership.

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MUBI, billed as a curated online movie theater, currently offers subscribers 30 movies a month for $4.80 (£2.99) with current titles including Sam Raimi's The Gift with Cate Blanchett, Bend It Like Beckham starring Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra, and the Russell Crowe western 3.10 To Yuma.

The partnership between Picturehouse and MUBI is initiated by film and brand specialists elevenfiftyfive.

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The deal marks "the beginning of a close working relationship" between the cinema group and the subscription video-on-demand platform, the parties said.

Discussions regarding complimentary programming are also under way between the two companies.

Picturehouse will support the partnership with "substantial on-screen promotion, in-cinema point-of-sale material and digital and social-media marketing," they said. "Picturehouse customers will now be able to watch great movies in the comfort of their own home or on the go as well as at their local Picturehouse cinema."

The partnership is the first major promotion for MUBI in the U.K. and enters it into the fray opposite Netflix, Amazon and other online entertainment VOD subscription operations.

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In addition to the VOD platform, MUBI is an editorially rich social network for film lovers with over five million global users.

MUBI founder and CEO Efe Cakarel described Picturehouse Cinemas as "perfect partners" for his company.

"We believe it is time for a new approach to VOD, focused on curating and programming great films. We are building an opinionated brand that you can trust to bring you the best films from around the globe," Cakarel said.

Picturehouse comms chief Gabriel Swartland added: "We are determined to work closely with emerging digital platforms. This partnership with MUBI allows us to gauge the appetite for video on demand, at home and on the go with our communities of avid film fans."

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