Source: Variety
In the days before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, Disney was planning to release its live action version of Mulan. After a string of hits at the box office in 2019, Mulan was supposed to be the next hit for the company.
A big decision needed to be made after the outbreak of the coronavirus. Should Disney save Mulan until after the pandemic is over and then release it? Or would it be more feasible to stream it on Disney+?
It looks like the company has decided on a combination approach. They will stream the film on Disney+ starting Sept. 4 but fans will need to pay to see the content in addition to their monthly service fee. Even though the amount of the stream has yet to be determined, some sources suggest that it may be as high as $30. The reason for this is that it took a $200 million budget to create the new Mulan and the company needs to find someway to make the content profitable.
When looking at other studios and their releases things appear to be up in the air. There are some trailers that are commercials on television regarding films that are supposed to hit movie theatres in late August. Since we are already in that timeframe, and it does not look like many movie theaters are going to be open anytime soon, it will be interesting to see what the major studios are going to do with the films that they projected to release before the end of this month. Again, it raises the question of should they save it or stream it?
It appears that streaming for low budget films is a good strategy for generating revenue for movie studios. However, films with a big budget it is a tough call whether to save or stream them, some movies studios have streaming services that do not have the popularity of a Netflix or Hulu and it puts them in a position where they will have to make a tough decision. One thing is for certain, fans of movie and television shows are probably wanting more content now rather than later, even if they have to use a streaming app to connect to it.