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If there’s one company that the expression “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” could easily apply to, it’s the Walt Disney Company. With a wide variety of media under its ownership, ranging from films to theme parks, the company has more to lose than most other media conglomerates, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are proof of that. Most of their theme parks have only just started reopening after months of closure, and production on their various film and television projects has had to be postponed indefinitely until they can safely resume work. With their primary sources of revenue giving them little as a result of the ongoing health crisis, Disney has had to take drastic measures to make up for their losses, with their most notable asset throughout the whole ordeal being their months-old streaming service, Disney+.
Since its launch in November of last year, Disney+ has provided millions of subscribers a wide variety of content old and new, showcasing not only much of Disney’s most iconic films and television series (including those from their subsidiaries Marvel, Pixar, and “Star Wars” creator LucasFilm), but also a healthy amount of original programming created specifically for the service, the most popular being the “Star Wars” spin-off “The Mandalorian”. Recently however, the streaming service has become something of a Plan B for Disney’s film branch. As the closure of theaters due to the pandemic has made it impossible for Disney to earn revenue through the theatrical release of their films, many of which Disney has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on. While the company has chosen simply to postpone the release date of their larger films, with the hope that the pandemic will soon end and moviegoers can safely experience such films, it has also opted to forego theaters in some cases and release their films directly to Disney+.
The first of these films was the Pixar animated fantasy “Onward”, which did actually get to be shown in theaters for a brief period of time in the beginning of March, but was then quickly made available when the majority of theaters closed and further revenue from this source was cut off. Next was the Kenneth Branaugh-directed sci-fi adaptation of “Artemis Fowl”, released onto Disney+ in June, and later in August, the same will happen with another live-action fantasy, “The One and Only Ivan”. Although all of these films have relatively large budgets (around $100 million dollars each), they still pale in comparison to their Marvel superhero flicks and live-action Disney remakes, so it’s no surprise that Disney has yet to do the same for those larger, more expensive projects, optimistic that once theaters reopen, they will rank in the big bucks they were expected to earn before the pandemic started.
Or at least that was the case until Tuesday, August 4th, when Disney announced that their live-action remake of “Mulan”, originally planned to come out at the end of March before being pushed back multiple times, will instead premiere on Disney+, foregoing a theatrical release throughout most the world.
With a budget of around $200 million, “Mulan” being released directly onto Disney’s streaming service, which was recently announced to have over 60 million subscribers, comes as something of a shock, with many wondering how the film can make a profit with so much money put into it and so little being earned through this particular method. However, there are two caveats to this announcement. For one thing, the movie will be released theatrically in regions where Disney+ is currently unavailable, meaning the film will be able to gain theatrical revenue in a small handful of international markets. More significantly however, is the price subscribers will have to pay to watch the film, as Disney will charge $29.99 for access to the film starting September 4th. Although the price is significantly higher, this strategy is not too dissimilar to that taken by Universal when releasing the animated “Trolls: World Tour” through video on demand back in April.
While this announcement has come as a surprise, it was in some respects inevitable. Despite most of the world slowly recovering from the pandemic, the United States, arguably the largest box office from which Disney earns the bulk of its revenue, has yet to reach a similar point when it comes to combating the disease. This means the majority of movie theaters remain closed, and while there has been announcement of reopening by many of the larger theater chains, there’s no sure guarantee considering how often they’ve had to retract their opening dates. With so much uncertainty as to when theaters will safely be back up and running, it’s no wonder that Disney has opted to not take the risk and instead release “Mulan” through streaming, despite the possibility that it will not be able to recoup its expenses in this manner.
To date, “Mulan” is now one of the largest films to reject theatrical release, and as such, it has caused many to question whether or not other films of a similar scale will receive such treatment. Will Disney repeat the process with its other live-action blockbuster, Marvel’s “Black Widow”? Will other studios follow suit with their own big-budget productions, such as Warner Brothers’ “Wonder Woman 1984” and Universal’s “Fast and the Furious 9”?
The answer to these questions will depend entirely on how well “Mulan” performs on Disney+. On the one hand, there is major demand to see this film, and for many, they will do whatever it takes to see it. On the other hand, the $29.99 price may be too steep for some, and they may be willing to wait until the film becomes available for free viewing. It’s too early to tell at this point, although given the impact it could have on the future of theatrical film viewing, this is a significant event that should be paid very close attention to.
