By Matt Neglia
During their Q3 earnings call today, Disney CEO Bob Chepak made the announcement that “Mulan” (2020) will be going to Disney+ on Friday, September 4th, 2020. This comes after the announcement a few days ago that the film had been removed from the 2020 release calendar for a theatrical run.
The film will still release theatrically in specific international markets where theaters are open and Disney+ is not accessible. The price point for watching “Mulan” on Disney+ will be $30.
Chepak said, “We’re pleased to bring Mulan to a consumer base that’s been waiting for it as we’ve had to move our (release) dates several times…We’re looking at Mulan as a one-off as opposed trying to say that there’s a new business windowing model.”
Interesting comments to be sure, especially when considering how many titles Disney has this year, including the upcoming “Black Widow” and “Soul.” The recent success of “Hamilton” on the channel has probably given Disney the confidence to move forward with this decision but they’re saying it’s still a one-off.
In regards to the price point, Chepak says “as you know it’s fairly expensive to produce for consumers the quality we’re known for. 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). 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+.”
The pandemic has forced many of the major studios to innovate and make bold decisions as of late (including Universal’s recent deal with AMC Theaters) and this will certainly be a major one, especially if it’s financially successful. Disney+ currently has 60.5 million subscribers. If they all purchased “Mulan” at $30 that would be a total of $1.815 billion. Not too shabby for ditching a theatrical run entirely.
What do you think of this announcement from Disney regarding the release of “Mulan?” Will you be purchasing it for $30? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.
You can follow Matt and hear more of his thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @NextBestPicture
