Chapek said that Mulan will premiere on Disney+ in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and a “number of other countries,” although it will also roll out in theaters internationally where venues are open (like China) or where Disney+ has yet to be launched.
Adding that the premiere of Mulan on Disney+ would be a “one-off,” Chapek said that Disney is still planning a traditional theatrical arrival for its next big picture, Marvel’s Black Widow, on November 6.
Chapek said that Disney will “find it very interesting to take that $29.99 offering and learn from it,” suggesting that charging a premium for Mulan on Disney+ is an experiment that could have effects on future releases depending its success.
He remarked, “Disney blockbuster tentpoles can be fairly expensive to make and produce, so rather than roll it into the subscription we thought we’d give it a try to recapture some of that investment. Such an offering not only brings in revenue from PVOD, but also acts as a stimulus to sign up for Disney+.”
Disney+ itself has been one of Disney’s few success stories in a year that the company’s bottom line has been devastated by the pandemic, with the service signing up 60.5 million subscribers and beating estimates for its first year.
