Early in “Material,” in a body horror film starring five Academy Award-nominated Demi Moore, Dennis Quaid Grotesque burns shrimp while firing Ms. Moore's character.
It was in this scene that Efekacarell, CEO of Niche Streaming Service Mbi, convinced him that he had to buy a bold horror film. The film was killed by universal photography after director Coralie Fargeat refused to argue it against the executive's preferences.
“It was very unique,” Kacarel said. “This will be our first global acquisition. I have never made any certainty of this.”
There was then a $12 million purchase for the global rights of films and a rare success story midway through the fate and Grome era of the Hollywood film business. “The Substance” currently has over $82 million worldwide, earning the best photography and best director. Moore is a huge favorite to win the best actress at the Academy Awards this weekend. And it catapulted the Mbi. This was the company's first defeat in the quagmire of a harmless four-letter word streaming service, losing to a real Hollywood player.
The company made a leap with its rare business model. Subscribers for the service start at $14.99 will get a hand-picked selection of independent films, ranging from classics to new releases. A higher tier subscriber, $19.99 Mbigo also gets weekly tickets to theatres in the US, UK or Germany. The London-based company, which employs 400 people worldwide, refused to say how many people will pay for the service, but said 16 million people have registered on the site.
“For some reason, they managed to pull away the impossible,” Eric Ferner, producer of Matter, said of Mbi. “It's not a small feat these days, but it's a huge global audience to see it, and it's becoming a premium job for its members,” he said.
This has always been a plan for Kacarel, a 48-year-old Turkish entrepreneur who received an engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Kacarel, who received an MBA from Stanford University.
He founded the company in 2007, the same year Netflix began streaming movies and TV shows as a service for film enthusiasts. The goal was to support the theatrical director experience and curate high-end films with the service. Originally called Oat, the service began by offering new movies to subscribers in a day, with each film still on service for 30 days. But Kacarel didn't want just the film. He was only interested in the best films of the most highly acclaimed filmmakers.
“From day one, Mbi has always really spoken about the film,” he said.
It took me years to buy any of the Hollywood studios for his idea.
“I'm going to major studios and I say, 'These are 32 titles I want to get,'” Kacarel said. “They'll say: 'No, this isn't how this business works. If you're getting these titles, you'll need to get these titles too.”
“They'll literally throw me out of their office,” he added.
Then in 2015, both Sony and Paramount agreed to offer Mbi movies to British subscribers. In 2017, the company signed its first multi-year multi-territory streaming agreement with Universal Pictures, giving Mbi international access to library films like “A Serious Man” by Joel and Ethan Cohen. “It's John Malkovich,” by Spike Johnze. Billy Wilder's “Double Compensation.” And a handful of films from Alfred Hitchcock.
In 2016, the company began distributing films in theaters in select markets, with an increase in films including Charlotte Wells' Afterson, which was released in 2022 with “Priscilla” by Sofia Coppola.
In 2022, Kacarel said he spent “irrational amounts” and won the rights to US and British theatres, and the rights to British theatres to park Chang Wook's “Decision to Leave,” making it America's best gloss film. Its distinctive feature, “The Girl With the Needle,” is a nominee for the Academy's best international film category.
“We're excited to see the latest trends in our work,” said Jason Ropel, Mbi's Chief Content Officer. “Help the right people. Collect money. It all happened in stages. When this opportunity came, we were ready.”
After Universal Pictures told Fargate he wouldn't release the film in its current form, which had been featured in the film for nearly five years, the opportunity arose to jump on “Substance,” but she was allowed to shop elsewhere.
“No one called me,” she said this month at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. “Everyone thought my film was dead.”
However, she took part in the film at the Cannes Film Festival and embraced it in the 2024 competition.
Kacarel was following Fargate's work after the 2017 film “Revenge.” While on vacation in Vietnam, he saw the announcement of the Cannes lineup. I reached for the working title, the producer behind the film. A few days later, I sat in a screening room in London and watched a movie.
“I left the screening room and punched the wall out of excitement,” he said. “I haven't seen anything like this in a long time.”
Kacarel surpassed his fellow indie distributor Neon and purchased the global rights to “material” prior to his Cannes debut. The film reached a height that only Fargate thought could possibly be possible.
When Moore won the Best Actress Award at the Screen Actor Guild Awards on Sunday, she thanked Kakarel. “I think the reception for this film will result in other bold original films being made,” Kacarel said.
This year, the company purchased the US rights to Hollywood satire “Lurker,” one of the few acquisitions at the Sundance Film Festival this winter. And recently announced the acquisition of North American rights to the gay romance film “The History of Sound,” starring Josh O'Connor and Paul Mezcal.
“The platform itself is a fan favorite of filmmakers,” said Will Maxfield, an independent WME agent who sold Ira Sachs' “passage” to the company in 2023 and negotiated a “Lurker” deal with Mubi at Sundance. “And they've built their brands as filmmaker-friendly distributors.”
The streamer will be taking on the original production for the first time this year, starting with three films, a nearly $20 million heist film starring O'Connor, Kelly Reihardt's “The Mastermind.” Jim Jalmusch's “Father, Mother, Sisters, Brothers,” starring Cate Blanchett and Adam Driver. “Rose Bush Pruning” with Riley Kee and Elle Fanning. Mubi is still small compared to other streaming services, but this year it plans to release around 20 films in theaters. This is a welcome to an independent film space that has struggled to connect with movie fans.
“The last 18 years have been really good,” Kacarel said. “The next 18 years will be incredible. It feels like day one. Everything's coming together.”
