EXCLUSIVE: Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi has traditionally been shy about revealing performance numbers for its movies, but today we can reveal that BAFTA and Oscar hopeful Aftersun has become the company’s most streamed release globally.
We’re told the Paul Mescal-starrer has now far surpassed Mubi’s previous best-performers including Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, The Worst Person In The World, Drive My Car, Decision To Leave, Shiva Baby and Titane, some of which were released during the pandemic, a boom time for streamer engagement.
The film started streaming in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Latin America and a handful of other markets on January 6, 2023, and has also become the top-viewed film all time in these individual territories. It will join the platform in Germany, Austria and Spain in March, and later in France.
Writer-director Charlotte Wells’ acclaimed debut has also blazed a trail for Mubi at the theatrical box office, becoming the company’s highest grosser in the UK ($1.91M/£1.58) and in coming weeks the film should overtake Decision To Leave to become its biggest global theatrical release.
In the UK, the film is now the highest-grossing British independent debut since Submarine in 2011, and the highest-grossing British female debut since Universal’s big-budget musical Mamma Mia in 2008. Widest point of release in the UK was 315 cinemas.
Mubi distributed the film through its in-house distribution teams in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Latin America, then in Spain (with Elastica), France (with Condor), Austria (with Stadtkino Filmverleih), Brazil (O2Play), Central America (Pacific Grey), Argentina & Uruguay (Zeta Films), and Benelux (with September Films) for a total international box office for Mubi’s territories a little north of $3M.
The father-daughter coming-of-age drama scored seven BIFA wins and is currently nominated for four BAFTAs and a Best Actor Oscar for Paul Mescal.
A24 has the movie in the U.S. where it has made $1.5M, which is impressive considering it has never played in more than 100 theaters at once.
Mescal stars with breakout Frankie Corio in the acclaimed low-budget film in which a young girl reflects on the rare time spent with her loving and idealistic father. Pastel and Unified Theory produced.
Mubi, which acquired German sales firm The Match Factory last year, has become one of the most voracious arthouse buyers at festivals in recent years, picking up key titles at Cannes, Berlin and Sundance. It recently acquired all rights to Ira Sachs’ Sundance title Passages for U.S., UK, Ireland and Latin America.
The company was founded by Efe Cakarel in 2007 and has high-profile auteur subscribers (Paul Thomas Anderson among them), and backing from industry and business leaders from companies such as Working Title, Goldman Sachs and Apple.
