On September 4th of this year, Disney released the live-action remake of the Disney classic ‘’Mulan’’ on their own streaming platform Disney+. There was however one caveat: Disney+ subcribers had to pay an extra $29.99 to add the movie to their Disney+ library. Many were skeptic about this decision of Disney, as the public opinion was that ‘’nobody’’ would be willing to pay an additional 30 dollars on top of their subscription fee of 70 dollars a year.
Mulan was originally slated to come out in theaters earlier this year, but was delayed multiple times and eventually cancelled due to the pandemic. Disney+ then decided to use a ‘’hybrid’’ of their movie distribution models they had used, combining their streaming service with the release of blockbusters in theaters. Disney was not the first to do this, as for example Amazon Prime Video offers subcribers to ‘’rent’’ or ‘’buy’’ movies in addition to their basic library. The difference here is that Mulan is an actual unreleased $200 million blockbluster which was expected to dominate the box office this year (Makuch, 2020).
Now a month after release, Disney’s CFO Christine McCarthy claimed to be ‘’very pleased’’ with the results of Mulan (Bowman, 2020). In the first 9 days, Mulan generated an estimated revenue of $270 million as 9 million U.S. subscribers paid for the movie (Bowman, 2020). What also has to be taken into account is that Disney owns all the revenue, in contrast to when the movie would have been released in theaters. Furthermore, the movie also affects the streaming service Disney+ overall, as it can attract more subscribers or make current subscribers use the service more.
According to Mulan producer Jason Reed, this ‘’hybrid’’ distribution model will allow more creative freedom (D’Allesandro, 2020). There might be revenue break points for ‘’big’’ movies with a relatively smaller budget which can be reached easier through releasing movies on their own platform instead of splitting revenue with other studios and theaters. Furthermore, big blockbusters such as Mulan releasing on the studio’s platform may help the platform grow and earn more revenue in the long run.
It is interesting to see how streaming platforms such as Disney+ are still evolving and looking for ways to increase value, even though they have already disrupted the video on demand market and have found a place in the entertainment industry. Personally, I am of the opinion that this hybrid distribution model will not compete with theaters, as theaters still offer a customer experience that can not be matched at home. It is however clear that ‘’regular’’ subscription models may not have to be the golden standard for streaming platforms.
[References]
Makuch, E. (2020). Disney’s Mulan Producer On How The Movie Business May Change Due To COVID. Gamespot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/disneys-mulan-producer-on-how-the-movie-business-m/1100-6481722/
D’Alessandro, A. (2020). ‘Mulan’ Producer Jason Reed Q&A. Deadline. https://deadline.com/2020/09/mulan-jason-reed-producer-interview-disney-pvod-china-1203028065/
Bowman, J. (2020). ‘’Mulan’’ Looks Like a Big Win for Disney+’’. Fool. https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/09/19/mulan-looks-like-a-big-win-for-disney/
