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Disney Plus’ Mulan 2020 release: Everything we know (and still don’t know yet)
Disney‘s unorthodox plan to release Mulan — like most things during the coronavirus pandemic — answered one big question but raised a lot of others. After delaying the big-screen rollout of Mulan three times since it was originally meant to hit theaters March 27, Disney finally chose an unconventional path for the film: Disney will sell access to the big-budget, live-action remake starting Sept. 4 for $30 on Disney Plus, its subscription streaming service that already costs $7 a month. Mulan also will debut in theaters the same day in countries where cinemas are actually open and those that don’t (and won’t) have Disney Plus.
It’s an unprecedented move. Unfathomable just six months ago, selling Mulan online the same day it hits theaters is a major defection from the rigid rules that usually keep new movies in cinemas exclusively for 75 days or more. Until the pandemic, Disney had been loyal to those so-called theatrical windows, racking up more box-office blockbusters in the last five years than any other studio.
But it’s also a twist to how Disney has pitched its streaming service Disney Plus since its launch in November. Disney Plus was marketed as a rival to Netflix, an all-you-can-eat buffet to stream almost everything Disney produces for one monthly subscription fee. But Mulan will involve an additional transaction that members must pay for — and a pricey one at that. It’ll be a new proposition for Disney Plus’ 60 million subscribers.
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