Mulan was one of Disney’s most-anticipated films of the year. Last week, Disney announced Mulan’s premier will be exclusive to Disney Plus on September 4.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during an earnings call:
“We’re very pleased to be able to bring Mulan to our consumer base that has been waiting for it for a long, long time as we’ve had to unfortunately move our theatrical date several times.”
Mulan however, won’t be directly available to Disney Plus subscribers. Those wishing to stream the live-action movie will have to fork out an extra US$29.99 to rent the movie. This will be on top of the monthly subscription fee of AUD$8.99, or a yearly subscription of AUD$90. In countries where Disney Plus is unavailable, Mulan will play in cinemas. Lines are slightly blurred when it comes to the countries Mulan is available in. It seems only with time, more information will be provided.
The release of Mulan on Disney Plus will be the first time Disney has done this. Chapek noted during Disney’s earnings call, that Mulan’s release on Disney Plus will be a one-off event. It’s without saying that if Mulan is successful, Disney will definitely be shifting other films onto their subscription service.
So why the move to Disney Plus from conventional cinemas? Disney came out of 2019 as the biggest winner amongst the major Hollywood studios. Disney alone made a record $11 million of $13 million that Walt Disney Studies made. Avengers: Endgame, Toy Story 4, Frozen 2, The Lion King and Aladdin, are major contributors to this sum.
It seems Disney’s decision to move one of their biggest films of the year to Disney Plus comes as a result of the pandemic and the loss the business has already endured. From lack of visitors to theme parks and cruises, Chapek says that bringing high-profile releases such as Mulan “will act as a fairly large stimulus to sign up for Disney Plus”. Given that the movie did cost $200 million to produce, Disney is hoping to recapture “some of our original investment”. It seems that the unprecedented future and the grey area of the reopening of cinemas is haunting major production companies.
Mulan was originally scheduled to be released in March this year. It was delayed to July, and then to August due to COVID-19. With a now formally set release date, the ultimate success of the movie will rely on whether people believe it is worth paying for.
Check out the official trailer for Mulan:
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