In a surprising move, Disney Pictures has announced that its live-action “Mulan” film is going to try a bold experiment – a merging of both SVOD and PVOD.
Specifically the film will premiere both in cinemas and on the Disney+ streaming service on September 4th. However it won’t come free with the standard Disney+ membership fee that approximately 60.5 million subscribers are paying for as of last month. Instead it will be available on a ‘premiere access’ basis for a price of $29.99 U.S. dollars.
Originally scheduled for March 27th, the film was meant to be one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) major theatrical releases from the Mouse House this year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Disney to postpone the film to late July then late August then they pulled it indefinitely.
That Disney, the single biggest supporter of maintaining the existing theatrical window strategy, has opted to try this is a stark indication that there’s not a lot of faith in the prospect of cinemas re-opening this year at a scale that supports mega-budgeted filmmaking.
The Niki Caro-helmed feature boasts a major $200 million production budget with sweeping battle scenes and lavish sets and costumes. Even when Disney pushed the film to August, co-chairman Alan Horn said: “Caro and our cast and crew have created a beautiful, epic, and moving film that is everything the cinematic experience should be, and that’s where we believe it belongs – on the world stage and the big screen for audiences around the globe to enjoy together.”
Even internationally, the mandatory restrictions placed on cinemas and their maximum capacity potential are severe enough that major releases risk not being able to recoup marketing costs. Disney is still forging ahead though, planning to release the film theatrically in certain markets where there are no announced Disney+ launch plans and where cinemas are open.
Source: Variety
