Mulan goes on Disney+
Live-action remake skipping most movie theatres for streaming
Walt Disney Co.’s live-action version of Mulan will skip most of the world’s movie theatres and go directly to its streaming platform in September, the media giant said on Tuesday. The decision follows uncertainty about when big movie theatre chains in the United States will be able to reopen after being shuttered since mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mulan will cost a premium price of $29.99 on the Disney+ streaming service in the U.S., Canada, Australia and parts of Western Europe, Disney’s chief executive, Bob Chapek, said on a call with investors after Disney reported quarterly earnings. He also called the live-action remake’s streaming release a
“one-off,” not an overall shift in strategy.
The movie, reported to have cost $200 million to produce, will be released Sept. 4 in movie theatres that do not currently have the Disney+ platform and where movie theatres are open, Chapek added.
Mulan had been scheduled to reach theatres in March, but its release has been postponed several times as many cinemas remain closed. Most recently, it was set to debut Aug. 21, and theatre operators had hoped it would help spark a late-summer rebound for movie-going.
Last month Disney said it was postponing the debut of Mulan indefinitely while it assessed its options.