Disney’s troubled Mulan to miss cinemas

After a chaotic year of changing release dates, Disney has made the unusual decision to forgo cinemas and release its live-action remake of Mulan on its new streaming service, Disney+, but for an additional fee


MULAN TIMELINE
   
Aug 13-Nov 25, 2018: Filming takes place in New Zealand and China

Aug 16, 2019: Calls for movie boycott after lead actress Liu Yifei voices support for Hong Kong police during pro-democracy protests

Mar 9, 2020: U.S. world premiere

Mar 27: Original release date – cancelled due to pandemic. Date rescheduled for Jul 24, then cancelled again and reset for Aug 21

Jul 23: Film removed from 2020 release calendar altogether

Aug 4: Disney says Mulan will air on Sep 4, on Disney+, skipping theatrical release, but will cost additional one- off payment of $30 (on top of $70 annual subscription). Viewers will own movie, but only as long as they subscribe


Liu Yifei as Mulan, in Disney’s $200m remake


DISNEY NET INCOME ($billions, quarterly)

Disney+ subscribers have soared to more than 60m worldwide. Disney trying to leverage extra income out of this base by charging fee for Mulan

Pandemic has devastated Disney’s theme parks, live productions and cruise line businesses

Loss: $4.72bn

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Sources: Engadget, MarketWatch, LA Times, BBC, YCharts 
Picture: © Disney
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