Mubi leans into theatrical curation
- Mubi announced a Canadian theatrical release date for Karim Aïnouz's Rosebush Pruning this week. - The film's ensemble includes Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Elle Fanning, Jamie Bell and Pamela Anderson. - Mubi is treating limited theatrical runs as prestige branding even while facing an auto-renewal subscription class-action lawsuit (moviescenecanada.com) (topclassactions.com).
Mubi set August 7, 2026 as the Canadian theatrical release date for Karim Aïnouz’s *Rosebush Pruning*, extending the streamer’s push into cinema bookings. (moviescenecanada.com) The film premiered in Competition at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 14, 2026, and Mubi lists it as “A MUBI Release.” Its ensemble includes Callum Turner, Riley Keough, Jamie Bell, Lukas Gage, Elena Anaya, Tracy Letts, Elle Fanning and Pamela Anderson. (berlinale.de) (mubi.com) Mubi’s own synopsis describes a wealthy American family in Catalonia whose isolation collapses after an outsider arrives, with buried tensions and the truth about the mother’s death driving the plot. Berlinale’s program calls it a satire of the “traditional patriarchal family.” (mubi.com) (berlinale.de) The Canada date lands as Mubi keeps building a business that links streaming, distribution and theaters. On its Mubi Go page, the company says subscribers get one movie ticket every week plus streaming access for $19.99 a month, with the service available in select cities and “nationwide soon.” (mubi.com) Mubi is also putting more capital behind theatrical releases. Deadline reported on April 8 that the company signed a multi-year alliance with IPR.VC to co-finance a slate of European films for theatrical release and global distribution on Mubi. (deadline.com) That expansion is unfolding while Mubi is settling a consumer case in California over subscription renewals. The court-authorized settlement site says the lawsuit alleged Mubi failed to give adequate notice of automatic renewals and failed to obtain sufficient consent, allegations the company denies. (mubisettlement.com) The settlement covers California residents who signed up on or after April 1, 2021 and had subscriptions renewed through May 31, 2025 without receiving a full refund of all renewal charges. Mubi agreed to a non-reversionary $1.6 million fund, and the claim deadline is June 9, 2026. (mubisettlement.com) So the same company asking subscribers to use an app for weekly cinema tickets is also paying to resolve claims about how some subscriptions renewed. *Rosebush Pruning* now becomes another test of whether Mubi can keep turning limited theatrical runs into part of its brand. (mubi.com) (mubisettlement.com)
