A multiview backlight, multiview display, and method of multiview backlight operation include reflective multibeam elements having one or more curved reflective surfaces configured to provide emitted light having directional light beams with directions corresponding to view directions of a multiview image. The multiview backlight includes a light guide configured to guide light and an array of the reflective multibeam elements. Each reflective multibeam element includes a plurality of reflective sub-elements and is configured to reflectively scatter out a portion of the guided light as the emitted light. The multiview display includes the multiview backlight and an array of light valves to modulate the directional light beams to provide the multiview image. A reflective sub-element of the reflective sub-element plurality includes a curved reflective surface, a surface curvature of the curved reflective surface being in a plane parallel to a guiding surface of the light guide.