For those who don’t want to pay $30 to see “Mulan” on Disney+, there’s another option…though it will mean waiting another three months.
As first reported by The Verge, a help page on the Disney+ customer support website says that “Mulan” will be available for free to Disney+ subscribers starting on December 4. From Sept. 4 to Nov. 2, subscribers will have to purchase a “Premier Access” pass for $29.99 to see the film, which was moved to premium on-demand after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the film from its initial theatrical release date back in March.
“Mulan” will still be released theatrically in over a dozen countries that do not have Disney+, including China, over the next two weeks. But the decision to pull it from theaters earlier this summer was characterized by Disney CEO Bob Chapek as a last resort after a COVID-19 infection surge forced the studio to abandon plans for a rescheduled theatrical release in late July. The film’s revenue will now be driven by two months of PVOD sales, as well as revenue from new subscribers interested in the film.
Disney+ currently has over 60 million subscribers worldwide, meaning that 25% of its subscriber base would have to buy the film via PVOD for it to gross $450 million in digital revenue. At the start of 2020, the film had been expected to be one of several $1 billion box office hits, similar to past Disney remakes like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.
