After months of having its release date shuffled around, it seems that Disney has finally found a home for its live-action adaptation of MULAN, and as many suspected, it will be heading to the Disney+ streaming service, but, there's a catch. During Disney's quarterly earnings call, CEO Bob Chapek announced that MULAN will premiere on Disney+, but the privilege of watching it will cost you $29.99. (UPDATE – Insider is reporting that once the film is unlocked, it remains available for as long as you're a subscriber. Interesting – it feels like other studio tentpoles could go this way if MULAN does well).
MULAN will be offered as part of Disney+'s new Premium Tier, which means that you'll be shelling out the extra $29.99 on top of your regular Disney+ subscription fee. Can't say I love that, but what can you do? MULAN will be available to Disney+ customers in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Austrailia, and many Western European countries, but it will also debut in cinemas on the same date in territories which don't have access to the streaming service. "Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, we’ve continued to build on the incredible success of Disney+ as we grow our global direct-to-consumer businesses," Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek said in a statement. "The global reach of our full portfolio of direct-to-consumer services now exceeds an astounding 100 million paid subscriptions — a significant milestone and a reaffirmation of our DTC strategy, which we view as key to the future growth of our company." Chapek added that this PVOD release of MULAN is intended to be a "one-off" rather than a new method of releasing for Disney, but I suppose that all depends on how well this works out for the studio. Could BLACK WIDOW be next?
In regards to the additional price which MULAN will cost audiences, Chapek added, "as you know it’s fairly expensive to produce for consumers the quality we’re known for. Rather than simply rolling [MULAN] into a free offering, we thought we can test anything when you have your own platform. We’re trying to establish a new premiere access window to capture that investment we got [in the film]. We’ll have a chance to learn from this. From our research under a premiere access offering, not only does it get us revenue from our original transaction of PVOD, but it’s a fairly large stimulus to sign up for Disney+." Are you prepared to shell out $29.99 to watch MULAN on Disney+?
The official synopsis for MULAN:
When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.
MULAN will debut on Disney+ and select theaters on September 4, 2020.