Mubi CEO: 'Primetime' $20M Opening Shows Healthy Younger Audience
At the Zurich Summit, Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel praised Lance Oppenheim's 'Primetime' opening weekend and said younger audiences are discerning and value experiences.
Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel used his appearance at the Zurich Summit to highlight the theatrical performance of Lance Oppenheim's film Primetime, calling its opening weekend a striking result for the kind of release it is.
"A $20 million opening weekend for a film like Primetime is incredible," Cakarel said, according to Variety. He added that younger audiences are turning out for the film and that the demographic picture around it is healthy.
Cakarel's remarks came as he described Mubi's own expansion. The company, founded 19 years ago, took 15 years to reach 40 employees, he said, but has grown from 40 to more than 400 in the past four years.
He also pointed to the wider release calendar, noting that 2023 and 2024 were phenomenal years at Mubi while 2025 was slower. Among the projects he mentioned was financing a film by Paweł Pawlikowski.
Cinema habits, from arthouse to multiplex
Cakarel traced his own filmgoing back to a small Mediterranean city on Turkey's West Coast, where he fell in love with movies at a local arthouse cinema. He contrasted that with his 20-year-old sister, who relies on multiplexes in shopping centers for entertainment.
He also described his 14-year-old son watching Kane Parsons' Backrooms in a cinema with a post-screening Q&A. For Cakarel, younger audiences are discerning and value experiences — a view he tied directly to the Primetime result.
Quick answers
What did Mubi's CEO say about 'Primetime'?
Efe Cakarel praised Lance Oppenheim's film and its opening weekend, saying a $20 million opening for a film like 'Primetime' is incredible and that younger audiences are watching it.
How much has Mubi grown?
Cakarel said Mubi grew from 40 to more than 400 employees in the past four years. The company started 19 years ago and took 15 years to reach 40 employees.
Where did Efe Cakarel speak?
He spoke at the Zurich Summit.