Source: Ara Wagoner / Android Central
When Disney announced during its second quarterly revenue report that Mulan would be the last Disney movie to come forward to Disney +, as theaters remain largely closed and windows of home release are swept away by the pandemic. Unlike Hamilton and Frozen II, however, Mulan would become a $ 30 guarantor again a Disney + subscriber, causing outrage among fans and observers, as Disney paid $ 10 more than competitors like Universal.
Turns out Disney actually does not pay too much for a rental. That $ 30 is a direct purchase, which unlocks the movie early on D + and allows you to watch it as many times as you want between September 4th and when the movie arrives for D + subscribers for free.
Check out all the best VPN services you can use in 2020
And that makes Mulan’s price much more reasonable.
The other “home + theater premieres” we’ve seen this summer – like Trolls World Tour – have been $ 20 48-hour rentals for the first few months until they reach their actual “home release” window, at which point users can buy the movie directly for $ 20 and rentals drop at more reasonable rates. The price here may seem steep, but if you watch it with a family of six, $ 20 at home beats $ 60 at checkout, not to mention, you can watch the movie at your kids’ pace and watch the movie revisit a few times before that two-day window expires.
For Mulan, however, you get a higher fee upfront to eliminate the secondary purchase costs along the way. $ 30 would probably cover three movie tickets at a theater, but instead you are essentially buying the movie through Disney + 3-4 months before the intended home release window. You can download the movie for offline play – though, just like buying a movie from Google Play or iTunes, you can not download an unencrypted version of the movie to add to Plex or a personal media server – and you can watch it as often if you want on any platform that Disney + is compatible with.
Do I wish this price was an actual purchase from a digital retailer so I could add the movie to my Library Anywhere library and view it on Google Play or Amazon Prime? Yes, because if you stop signing up for Disney +, you will lose access to the movie.
On the other hand, did I accuse Disney of wanting to keep a highly anticipated movie on its main service, and further cement Disney + as a “must-have” subscription? Nah, you may hate the player, but you have to respect the pressure.
While many have said they would rather Black Widow get this treatment than Mulan, I think it’s much more reasonable for Disney to test the waters with the remake. If customers unilaterally reduce this system and wait for Mulan to finally reach all Disney + subscribers – would I recommend Christmas or Valentine’s Day? – then Disney will learn from it and may either stick to Black Widow again or try another tactic.
Anyway, $ 30 up to buy a movie while debuting in international theaters, knocks the pants out of a 48-hour rental, and I’m here for it.
