Disney was always going to be in for a tough ride when they decided to release Mulan as the movie industry’s guinea pig to test out what the streaming waters had to offer for big budget blockbusters. The same could be said for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet movie theater experiment, though unlike Mulan, at least the former’s financials aren’t classified information.
Ever since Mulan’s September premiere on Disney's platform, the company has been criticized for its strategy of pricing the film at $29.99 Premium VOD as a monthly timed exclusive, that soon went live on other platforms, before it ultimately becomes free content for all of Disney+ 73 million subscribers in December.
However, according to Deadline, Disney CEO Bob Chapek is unfazed by all that speculation, admitting that Mulan was a bit of a controversial movie, but nonetheless noting that Disney “saw positive results to know that we had something in the premiere access strategy”.
Chapek also went on to explain Disney’s decision to forgo a theatrical release for Pixar’s Soul was down to being able to offer something concrete to base level Disney+ subscribers coining the move as “a really nice gesture to take it out during the holiday period and provide it on the service”.
The executive did not share any precise numbers that could explain what Disney interprets as a positive result, those will come out after an investor's briefing on December 10, all which only adds more fuel to the fires that point to Mulan not being the streaming wonder it was supposed to be. Of course, Mulan’s mixed to negative reviews did not help in any way to bolster its reputation as a premium VOD must-watch.
Despite what Disney’s apparent confidence may suggest, until exact numbers for Mulan are made public, other studios will stay away from compromising potential profits via streaming, as looks to be the case so far for every major movie that was planned for 2020, save for Western heroine Diana Prince.
Source: Deadline