Disney Plus will be the only place to stream “Mulan” next month – but you’ll also be able to pay $ 29.99 to access the live-action remake via third-party device platforms.
Beginning Sept. 4, “Mulan” will be available to Disney Plus subscribers who pay the additional fee of $ 29.99 for early access, on top of the regular subscription of $ 6.99 per month. The movie can be purchased directly from Disney at disneyplus.com, as well as through platforms including Apple, Google and Roku, according to updated info on the stream’s site.
A Disney rep confirmed to Variation that for purchases of “Mulan” made on the Disney Plus app through the in-app payment systems of Apple’s App Store, Google Play and Roku, Disney will be subject to transaction fees incurred by each of these platforms. In the case of Apple and Google, the standard in-app fee is 30%, while Roku keeps 20% of sales on their platform. The Disney spokesman declined to give details on what the fees are for “Mulan.”
Amazon is not currently in the mix as a distribution partner for “Mulan”, as noted by LightShed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield, who spotted the updated purchase information Friday. According to Greenfield, ahead of Universal’s “Trolls World Tour” premium VOD release this spring, device platforms will hold 20% of the retail price.
Earlier this month, Disney announced that it would first release “Mulan” as an option for early access to Disney Plus, by theatrical distribution rounding out several delays in its release schedule.
The film, directed by Niki Caro, is a live-action reimagining of Disney’s animated feature from 1998. Like the original, the new ‘Mulan’ follows a young warrior in China who disguises himself as a man to save her elderly father from service in the army.
It remains a question of whether Disney will pay for the remake “Mulan” by releasing it only on premium VOD, especially if it deviates more than 20% of the retail price to sales streaming through device partners.
To achieve $ 375 million in profits on PVOD alone, “Mulan” would have to sign up at least 12.5 million rentals, about 20% of Disney Plus’ 60.5 million worldwide subscriber base as of August 3rd. – and that calculation is based on the assumption that all those purchases will go directly through disneyplus.com, which will not be the case.
