£11.99

NOW Cinema

Cheapest Sky Cinema route

£8.99

Disney+ Standard

Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars

£12.99

Netflix Standard

Most-subscribed UK option

£4.99

BFI Player

Classic and British cinema

Quick verdict: which movie package is best for you?

Pick based on what you actually watch. Most households now stack two or three services rather than picking one.

Best movie subscription by viewer type
If you mostly watch... Best pick Starting price
Recent cinema releases on a film channelSky Cinema via NOW£11.99/month
A big back catalogue and Netflix originalsNetflix Standard£12.99/month
Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and family titlesDisney+ Standard£8.99/month
Apple's prestige originals and a Mac householdApple TV+£8.99/month
Independent, international, arthouse cinemaMUBI or BFI PlayerFrom £4.99/month
Pay only for what you watchRakuten TV / Amazon rentals£0 plus per-film fee

Prices verified in August 2026.

Sky Cinema: still 11 channels, now bundled with Paramount+

Sky Cinema is the last traditional pay-TV movie service still standing in the UK and remains the only way to watch genre-themed film channels around the clock. It runs 11 HD channels sorted by genre and audience plus an on-demand library of around 1,000 titles. The biggest news in the last three years: since June 2022, every Sky Cinema subscriber gets Paramount+ at no extra cost, fully integrated into Sky Stream and Sky Glass.

The 11 Sky Cinema channels

The 11 Sky Cinema channels and what they show
Channel What it shows
PremiereA new film every day, often within months of the cinema release
HitsCrowd-pleasing blockbusters from the last few years
GreatsClassic Hollywood and modern classics
ActionAction, thrillers and spy films
ComedyRomantic comedies and laugh-out-loud features
DramaAwards-season dramas and biopics
FamilyPG and U-rated films for younger viewers
AnimationAll-ages animated features
Sci-Fi HorrorSci-fi, fantasy and horror
ThrillerCrime, mystery and psychological thrillers
SelectCritically acclaimed and curated films

Sky Cinema channel line-up verified in August 2026.

How to subscribe to Sky Cinema

There are four ways to get Sky Cinema in 2026 - and the cheapest is no longer through Sky itself.

Routes to subscribe to Sky Cinema
Sign-up route Monthly price Key details
NOW Cinema Membership£11.99No contract, app on any device, +£6 for HD Boost
Sky Stream + Cinema add-on~£12 on top of Sky TV (£15)Includes Paramount+, 31-day or 18-month plans
Virgin Media TV + Sky Cinema packFrom £21 on top of TV bundle18-month contract, integrated into TV 360 guide
EE TV Big VIP£74 (full bundle)Sky Cinema bundled with Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Netflix

Sky Cinema subscription prices verified in August 2026.

The "Sky" route is rarely cheapest: NOW Cinema strips Sky Cinema down to just the channels and library for £11.99/month with no contract. The Sky Stream route is only better if you want Paramount+ thrown in or already pay for Sky TV.

The big streaming film libraries

Where Sky Cinema offers themed channels, every other major service hands you a library and lets you choose. Here is how the five biggest stack up.

Comparison of the biggest UK streaming services for film
Service Entry price Premium tier Strength
Netflix£5.99 with ads£18.99 Premium (4K, 4 devices)Vast library plus prestige originals
Disney+£4.99 with ads£12.99 Premium (4K, 4 devices)Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney, Fox
Amazon Prime Video£8.99 (or Prime member)+£2.99/m to remove ads (since Feb 2024)Pay-per-rental plus growing originals slate
Apple TV+£8.99No tiersSmall but high-end originals slate
Paramount+£6.99 or £69.90/yearFree with Sky CinemaParamount theatrical releases, Star Trek, Yellowstone

Streaming service prices verified in August 2026.

Service-by-service breakdown

Netflix

Netflix is still the most-subscribed streaming service in the UK and the only one in this list that genuinely competes with Sky Cinema on volume of new film releases. The 2025 prices are £5.99 (Standard with ads), £12.99 (Standard) and £18.99 (Premium). Only Premium supports 4K UHD and spatial audio. Since 2023, account-sharing outside your household is no longer permitted - extra members cost £4.99/month each.

Disney+

Disney+ launched in the UK in March 2020 and has steadily raised prices since: it now costs £4.99 (with ads), £8.99 (Standard) and £12.99 (Premium 4K). The library combines Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and 20th Century Fox. New Marvel and Star Wars feature films arrive exclusively on the service after their cinema run.

Amazon Prime Video

Prime Video comes free with an Amazon Prime membership (£8.99/month or £95/year) or as a standalone subscription at £8.99/month. From February 2024, Amazon introduced ads on all Prime Video content unless you pay an extra £2.99/month for the ad-free experience. The library mixes Amazon Originals (The Boys, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) with licensed films and a separate per-rental store for newer releases.

Apple TV+

Apple TV+ at £8.99/month is the smallest library on this page but the most consistent on quality. The film slate is short but prestige-heavy: Killers of the Flower Moon, Napoleon, Argylle, Wolfs and Spirited have all been Apple originals. New Apple device owners get a three-month free trial.

Paramount+

Paramount+ launched in the UK in June 2022 and is now included free for every Sky Cinema subscriber on Sky Stream, Glass and Q. Standalone it costs £6.99/month or £69.90/year. The library leans heavily on Paramount theatrical releases (Mission: Impossible, Top Gun: Maverick), Star Trek series and the Yellowstone universe (Yellowstone, 1923, 1883).

If you already have Sky Cinema, you already have Paramount+: Do not pay for it separately. Open the Paramount+ tile on Sky Stream or Glass and sign in with your Sky account to activate.

Arthouse and independent cinema

If the major streamers feel too mainstream, three UK services cater to film buffs.

MUBI

MUBI bills itself as "hand-picked cinema": every day a new film is added to a rolling library of 30, and after 30 days the oldest film rolls off. The curation spans international, arthouse, classic and emerging-director cinema. MUBI now costs £14.99/month (up from £9.99 in 2024) or £107.88 for a year (£8.99/month equivalent), and a Showtime cinema-ticket add-on is available in some cities.

BFI Player

The British Film Institute runs BFI Player, with a subscription tier at £4.99/month covering its critically acclaimed back catalogue (silent cinema through to recent festival darlings) and a separate per-rental section for newer titles. Subscribing also helps fund the BFI's archive and educational work.

Curzon Home Cinema

Curzon - the UK's leading independent cinema chain - runs a streaming service at £9.99/month that shows many of its theatrical releases day-and-date with the cinemas. If you want to watch an Oscar-nominated international film at home the same week it opens, Curzon Home Cinema is the place to look first.

Renting and buying films per title

For one-off cinema releases that have not landed on any subscription service yet, pay-per-rental is still the best route. Four storefronts dominate the UK market.

  • Sky Store: rentals from £3.99 (catalogue) to £15.99 (same-day cinema releases). Sky Cinema subscribers get a 20% discount;
  • Amazon Prime Video Store: integrated with Prime, rentals from £3.49 to £15.99, with a "Buy" option that keeps the title in your library forever;
  • Apple TV: the cleanest interface for renting, prices broadly match Amazon, supported on every Apple device and most smart TVs;
  • Rakuten TV: no subscription required at all, free ad-supported films alongside paid rentals from £2.99.
Tip: Rentals on Sky Store, Amazon and Apple TV all start a 30-day "watching window" - you have 30 days to start the film and 48 hours to finish it once you press play. Rakuten gives you 30 days to start and 72 hours to finish.

Pros and cons of the UK movie streaming market

Advantages

  • A no-contract Sky Cinema route exists via NOW for £11.99/month.
  • Sky Stream subscribers get Paramount+ free, which alone is worth £6.99/month.
  • Disney+ Standard at £8.99/month is cheaper than it was in 2022 (was £7.99) but the library is much bigger.
  • Arthouse fans now have three genuine choices (MUBI, BFI Player, Curzon Home Cinema).
  • 4K and Dolby Atmos are no longer Sky-exclusive - Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ all support both.

Disadvantages

  • Stacking two or three services to cover everything you want easily passes £30/month.
  • Amazon Prime Video now shows ads unless you pay £2.99/month extra (since Feb 2024).
  • Netflix and Disney+ no longer allow account-sharing outside your household.
  • New theatrical releases on Sky Store can cost as much as a cinema ticket (up to £15.99).
  • Apple TV+ raised its price from £4.99 to £8.99 in two years.

How to build your ideal movie package

There is no single right answer in 2026, but most film-loving households end up at one of these three setups.

  1. The casual viewer: Netflix Standard (£12.99) plus Disney+ Standard (£8.99) = £21.98/month for a huge mainstream library;
  2. The cinephile: Sky Cinema via NOW (£11.99) plus MUBI (£14.99) plus the occasional rental on Rakuten = £26.98/month plus rentals;
  3. The "I just signed up for Sky" household: Sky Stream + Sky Cinema add-on (~£27/month) - includes Netflix Basic with ads and Paramount+ at no extra cost, with the option to add Disney+ to the same bill.
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Frequently asked questions

The cheapest no-contract route is the NOW Cinema Membership at £11.99/month, which gives you all 11 Sky Cinema channels plus the full on-demand film library, streamed via the NOW app. Add £6/month for Boost (Full HD, surround sound and ad-free). Through Sky Stream the equivalent add-on is about £12/month on top of your Sky TV plan but bundles Paramount+ at no extra cost.

Yes. Since June 2022, Sky Cinema subscribers on Sky Stream, Sky Glass and Sky Q get Paramount+ at no extra cost, integrated into the Sky on-screen experience. This is a Sky-only benefit - NOW Cinema and standalone Sky Cinema subscriptions do not include Paramount+.

They serve different needs. Sky Cinema wins on new releases - it has a first-look deal with Universal that brings major theatrical films to the channel within months. Netflix wins on back catalogue and originals - thousands of films at any time plus a steady pipeline of high-budget Netflix-produced titles. Many film fans subscribe to both.

Netflix offers three plans in the UK: Standard with ads at £5.99/month, Standard at £12.99/month and Premium at £18.99/month. Only the Premium plan supports 4K UHD content and watching on four devices at once. Account-sharing outside your household is no longer permitted; extra "members" cost £4.99/month each.

Yes. Apple TV+ launched at £4.99/month, rose to £6.99/month in October 2022, and rose again to £8.99/month in October 2023. Despite the increases it remains one of the cheapest premium streaming services and gets a free trial with any new Apple device.

Three strong options: MUBI (£14.99/month for hand-picked international and arthouse cinema with a new film every day), BFI Player (£4.99/month for British, classic and rare cinema curated by the British Film Institute) and Curzon Home Cinema (£9.99/month for cinema-day-and-date independent releases). All three sell yearly subscriptions at a discount.

Yes. Sky Store, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV and Rakuten TV all run pay-per-rental services where you pay £4.99 to £15.99 per film. Rakuten and Amazon both also offer a rotating selection of free, ad-supported films with no subscription needed.