Disney’s live-action version of “Mulan” is no longer scheduled for theatrical release, the studio announced Tuesday.
Instead, the film will be available as a rental on Disney+ starting September 4 for an additional $US29.99 beyond the monthly subscription fee, according to Variety. A price for Australian customers is yet to be announced.
“Mulan” was initially scheduled for release in theatres March 27 but has been delayed several times because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Disney CEO Bob Chapek called the switch to streaming “a necessary move during the pandemic,” he said it probably wouldn’t be a new business model for the Mouse.
“We’re looking at ‘Mulan’ as a one-off as opposed to, say, there’s some new business windowing model that we’re looking at,” Chapek said Tuesday on the company’s earnings call, Variety reported.
Considering Mulan reportedly had a $200 million budget, the $29.99 rental fee is an attempt “to establish a new premiere access window to capture that investment we got” in the film, Chapek said, according to Deadline.
Twitter users weren’t sure how to take the news that “Mulan” was going straight to streaming, especially since two other Disney movies, “The New Mutants” and “Black Widow,” still have theatrical releases scheduled for August 28 and November 6, according to The Verge.