Disney has announced that their upcoming live action Mulan will forgo its planned theatrical release – instead, the movie will premiere on Disney Plus.
Unlike the rest of the content available on Disney Plus, consumers that have access to the streaming service will have to pay a premium price on top of monthly subscription fees.
Due for release on Sept. 4 Mulan will become available for a premium rental price of $29.99 – in markets where Disney Plus isn’t available, Mulan will play in cinemas.
Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek says Mulan’s big move was a necessary move during the pandemic and won’t be reflective of a new business model for the company.
Chapek said on Tuesday during the company’s earnings call:
“We’re looking at Mulan as a one-off as opposed to say there’s some new business windowing model that we’re looking at”.
Chapek added that it gives them a chance to “recapture some of our original investment” on Mulan. The movie cost $200 million to produce and many millions more to market and promote on a global scale.
Originally scheduled to open on March 27, Mulan was meant to be one of Disney’s major theatrical releases for the year – the COVID-19 pandemic forced Disney to postpone Mulan’s release multiple times before indefinitely removing it from the release calendar last month.
The film based on the Chinese folklore “The Ballad of Mulan” and is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1998 animated film of the same name.
Directed by Niki Caro, it is the most expensive film ever made by a female director.
Disney Plus now has over 60.5 million paying subscribers as of last month, just nine months after the launch of the direct-to-consumer streaming platform.
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