‘Mulan’ Heading to Disney+ September 4th for $29.99

Variety is now reporting that Disney's live-action adaptation of their popular animated film "Mulan" will no longer have a theatrical release in the United States. Instead, they will release the film on Disney+ for $29.99 on September 4 as part of a new "premiere access" option. However, the movie will continue to be released theatrically in international markets. 

Disney CEO Bob Chapek broke the news on a phone call after discussing the company's financials following Tuesday's market closing. Chapek assures us that the decision to release "Mulan" on Disney+ in the U.S. is a "one-off" event and has no bearing on the future of Disney's releases. 

While the Hollywood world premiere took place at the Dolby Theatre on March 9 of this year, Disney delayed the film from its original March 27, 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic to July 24, before postponing it again to August 21. However, due to the unfortunate state of the U.S. during the pandemic, Disney ultimately removed it altogether from its release schedule indefinitely. Now it appears Disney has decided to give up on a domestic release entirely and send it to streaming in time for Labor Day weekend. 

With 60.5 million subscribers as of July 2020, Disney could still turn "Mulan" into a high grossing movie, possibly still being able to enter the billion-dollar club even without factoring in the international releases. 

Naturally, many are beginning to ask the obvious question: If "Mulan" proves to be a success, will Chapek change his mind on this being a "one-off" and decide to release other delayed fan-favorites like November's "Black Widow" on Disney+?