Disney has announced on its Q3 earnings call that its live-action adaptation of Mulan will be heading to its streaming service, Disney+, on Sept. 4, where it will cost an additional $29.99 to view. In countries where Disney+ is not available but theaters are open, the movie will release in theaters on the same day.
Of course, this method of film distribution is the result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The theatrical release for Mulan had been delayed multiple times before being taken off the release calendar indefinitely until now.
About this decision to release via Disney+, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said (per Deadline), “We’re looking at Mulan as a one-off as opposed (to) trying to say that there’s a new business windowing model.” Nonetheless, Chapek later added, “Rather than simply rolling (the movie) 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).”
As for why $29.99 is being charged, Chapek said that Mulan was “fairly expensive to produce” to achieve the level of quality customers expect.
Both Mulan and Tenet were the top contenders for reopening theaters in the United States in a dramatic way. Tenet received multiple delays from its original July 17 release date, including an indefinite delay last month. However, Warner Bros finally announced that Tenet is receiving a staggered release, with Tenet releasing at the end of August internationally in select countries, while the United States will see a limited release on Sept. 3.
Disney has delayed many movies at this point, including pushing back films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe like Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Seven Rings, The Eternals, and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
