“Mulan” will bypass theaters and go straight to Disney Plus next month!
Just nine months after the launch of the direct-to-consumer streaming platform, Disney Plus has surpassed 60.5 million subscribers. And even though we are in the middle of a global pandemic, D+ is finding a way to bring smiles to our homes with Mulan!
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After several delays to its theatrical release date, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that “Mulan” will premiere on the service on a “premiere access” basis on Sept. 4 for $29.99. The film will be released theatrically in markets in which access to the movie on Disney Plus is not available.
Disney CEO, Chapek, is looking at ‘Mulan’ as a one-off opportunity to consumers at the $29.99 price and learn from it. They will be looking at the number of transactions and the number of subscribers generated by the movie.
Chapek said that the premiere access window created on Disney Plus for “Mulan” acts as a “fairly large stimulus” for new consumers to sign up for the streaming service.
Between Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus, the company has surpassed 100 million in global SVOD subscribers. That has made the company “even more confident about our future” and encouraged them to be “more aggressive” with programming. During the last earnings call, Disney reported 54.5 million worldwide subs. Chapek highlighted the 15 Emmy nominations earned by the service’s flagship live-action “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian.”
Hulu’s total subscribers have reached 35.5 million as of June 27, up 27% from the year ago quarter. Of those subscribers, 3.4 million take the SVOD Hulu service as well as the Hulu Live virtual MVPD service. Hulu Live subs are up from 2.2 million in the year-ago frame.
Disney plans to launch an international direct-to-consumer general entertainment offering under the Star brand in calendar year 2021. Chapek said it would draw content from Disney-owned ABC Studios, FX, Freeform, 20th Century Studios and Searchlight, among other Disney assets.
At this stage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the company’s direct-to-consumer and international segment is the only division that generated year-over-year revenue growth during the quarter, rising 2% to $4 billion. The unit delivered an operating loss of about $706 million, which was $200 million less of a loss than previously forecast, thanks to the growth of Disney Plus and Hulu.
Will you be paying the $29.99 to watch Mulan?
I’m saddened that they are charging extra for this- they didn’t got Hamilton! So many people signed up just for that- don’t think Mulan has the same draw. How long will it take for it to be added to the regular lineup?