After numerous rescheduled dates and delays due to the pandemic, Disney has announced that Mulan will be released on its streaming service on September 4. The film will be available to rent for $29.99 on Disney+, according to Variety, meaning the Chinese epic won’t automatically be available to the streamer’s subscribers. The film will also be released in theaters in territories that do not have access to Disney+.
This is a major twist in Disney’s ongoing release strategy, arriving at a time of devastating uncertainty for theaters around the world. Mulan was originally supposed to be released in March, but the studio pushed the release to late summer because of ongoing concerns about the coronavirus. However, the pandemic has continued to ravage the country, causing theater chains like AMC and Regal to keep their doors closed and forcing studios to rethink release plans for their tentpoles.
In late July, Disney appeared to lose hope that Mulan would manage a 2020 release date, taking the film off its schedule entirely. “Over the last few months, it’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis, and today that means pausing our release plans for Mulan as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world,” the studio said then.
At the time, the industry interpreted that move as a bid to hold Mulan until, potentially, a later theatrical release date, saving the adaptation for a time when the studio could more fully recoup its $200 million budget and cash in on its blockbuster potential. Mulan is a live-action adaptation of the 1998 animated classic about a Chinese warrior. It is directed by Niki Caro and stars Liu Yifei in the titular role. It was also going to be an inclusive step forward for Disney, one of few major Hollywood projects featuring a largely Asian cast. And considering how well past live-action adaptations like The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast have done for Disney (all three grossed $1 billion worldwide), Mulan was poised to become a massive box office hit. Now, the film’s financial future is much less certain.
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