by Conan Simmons – August 4, 2020 – 7:35pm
Disney announced today that its live action remake of ‘Mulan’ will no longer wait for theaters to reopen.
Instead the company will premiere the $200 million spectacle on its new streaming service Disney+.
But it won’t be available for free.
Monthly subscription fees go for about $6.99. ‘Mulan’ will be available for rental only at an additional price of $29.99.
The film was long expected to launch the return to movie theaters along with Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet’. With ‘Tenet’ planned for theatrical openings overseas followed later by select cinemas in the U.S. it’s starting to look like Warner Bros. is increasingly alone among the major studios in keeping faith in American cinemas.
Disney+ claims to have a subscription base of approximately 60 million which if subscribers opt to pay the added 30 dollars on top of the almost 10 they pay monthly Disney stands to make a tidy profit on the film without having to split it with exhibitors. This is expected to pave the way for Disney owned Marvel’s upcoming ‘Black Widow’ movie to also premiere on the streaming platform although Disney CEO Bob Chapek currently denies this.
Earlier this year AMC announced a ban on movies released by Universal only to turn around last week and sign an historic deal allowing the studio to show their movies with a 17 day window between theatrical and streaming. So it’s entirely possible, and quite probable, that Disney will also relent on their denials that this is their new release strategy going forward.
The future of cinemas remain uncertain.
‘Mulan’ stars Yifei Liu in the title role along with Chinese superstars Li Gong, Jet Li, Donnie Yen and is directed by Niki Caro. It is scheduled to be available on Disney+ on September 4.