Curiosity Stream doesn’t regularly report subscriber numbers, but it said in March 2023 that it had 23 million subscribers. In May, parent company CuriosityStream, which also owns Curiosity University, the Curiosity Channel linear TV channel, and an original programming business, reported its first positive net income ($0.3 million) in its fiscal Q1 2025 earnings.
That positive outcome followed a massive price hike that saw subscription fees double in March 2023. So if you decide to subscribe to Curiosity Stream, keep an eye on pricing.
Mubi
Mubi earned street cred in 2024 as the distributor behind the Demi Moore-starring film The Substance. But like Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle, there’s more than meets the eye with this movie-focused streaming service, which has plenty of art-house films.
Mubi costs $15 per month or $120 per year for ad-free films. For $20 per month or $168 per year, subscriptions include a “hand-picked cinema ticket every single week,” according to Mubi, in select cities. Previous tickets have included May December, The Boy and the Heron, and The Taste of Things.
Don’t expect a bounty of box office blockbusters or superhero films on Mubi. Instead, the spotlight is on critically acclaimed, award-winning films that are frequently even more obscure than what you’d find on The Criterion Channel streaming service. Save for the occasional breakout hits (like The Substance, Twin Peaks, and Frances Ha), you can expect to find many titles you’ve never heard of before. That makes the service a potential windfall for movie aficionados who feel like they’ve seen it all.
Browsing Mubi’s library is like uncovering a hidden trove of cinema. The service’s UI eases the discovery process by cleanly displaying movies’ critic and user reviews, among other information. Mubi also produces Notebook, a daily publication of thoughtful, passionate editorials about film.
Further differentiating Mubi from other streaming services is its community; people can make lists of content that other users can follow (like “Hysterical in a Floral Dress,” a list of movies featuring females showcasing “intense creative outbursts/hysteria/debauchery”), which helps viewers find content, including shows and films outside of Mubi, that will speak to them.