Live-action Mulan coming to Disney+…sort of
By Dan Selcke
Disney’s Mulan is skipping theaters and coming to Disney+…for $30, way behind the price of a normal movie ticket. Hooray…?
WELP. They held off for as long as they could, but Disney has finally acceded to the demands of a coronavirus-driven economy and opted to release its live-action Mulan remake, one of its most anticipated titles, on the streaming service Disney+…
…sort of. The movie won’t just be available to watch to Disney+ subscribers; it’ll be available to buy for $29.99, on September 4. I’m unclear on whether anybody can buy it or if you already have to be a Disney+ subscriber, which means you’re already paying a flat fee on top of that price tag. Either way, I don’t like it.
In territories where Disney+ is not yet available, the movie will be released into theaters. To anyone who chooses to go see it, please stay safe.
The Mulan remake has been moved again and again over the past several months; originally, it was going to come out in March, but the coronavirus had other plans. I’m glad we’ll get to see it, but $30 is steep, way beyond the price of a normal theater ticket, so I don’t know how well this is going to go over.
This news comes from Disney’s Q3 earnings call with investors. “We thought it was important to find alternative ways to bring [Mulan] in a timely manner,” said CEO Bob Chapek, per The Verge.
It was also revealed on the call that Disney+ already has 57.5 million subscribers, which is insane. To put that in context, Disney previously told its investors that it hoped to have between 60 and 90 million subscribers by 2024. To nearly reach that goal not even a year out is incredible.
That said, other parts of Disney’s business are hurting big time, such as theme parks and cruises. Maybe that’s why they need to charge $30 to watch Mulan?
Sorry, clearly I’m kind of hung up on that bit. Although now that I calm down a bit, I suppose paying $30 to stream the movie at home is roughly equivalent to two or three people going to see it in the theater, not to mention snacks and drinks and parking and such…
…but then again, with Disney streaming it directly into our homes, the overhead should shoot down to near zero, so why the high price tag?
I’m all over the map here. What do you make of all this?
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