Mulan Heads Straight To Disney+ In The US; Singapore Theatrical Release Still Undated

Mulan is set to head straight to Disney+. In the US, that is.

As per Variety, Disney has decided to skip a theatrical release and make the delayed live-action remake of the classic available on the streaming service for a premium rental price.

The flick will be available from September 4, however, US viewers will have to pay an extra US$29.99 (S$41) to watch the movie, that's on top of their monthly subscription of $6.99.

Disney's CEO Bob Chapek has explained the "one-off" decision.

Speaking during an earnings call this week, he 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 to trying to say that there's a new business windowing model."

On why they added the extra price to view the film, Capek explained: "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+."

However, countries where Disney+ isn't available will get a theatrical premiere. Since its debut last November, the streamer has over 60.5 million paying subscribers worldwide. No word on when Disney+ will be launched in Singapore.

Mulan, which reportedly cost Disney US$200 million to make, was supposed to open was open on March 27. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced Disney to push its release to July 25 and then to Aug 21. Last month, it was pulled from the studio's release schedule.

In Singapore, Mulan's theatrical remains undated. — BANG