05 August 2020

Mulan to forego cinema release as fans prepare to pay $29.99 on Disney+

The new live-action Mulan will be released on Disney+ rather than in cinemas as originally planned.

As reported last month, the film was originally due to be released in March but was then pushed back to August due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Now the re-make of the 1998 classic has been given a release date of September 4 on Disney+, according to Variety.

It has also been revealed that Disney+ subscribers will have to pay a premium of $29.99 on top of their $6.99 monthly fee in order to rent the film.

Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek said: "We’re looking at ‘Mulan’ as a one-off as opposed to saying there’s some new business windowing model that we’re looking at."

In territories where Disney+ is not available Mulan will be shown in selected cinemas.

Countries around the world have been forced to close theatres and cinemas during the pandemic as social distancing measures and strict lockdowns are enforced.

And following the original postponement of the film, a Disney representative spoke of the drastic impact the pandemic has had on the industry.

They said: "It’s become clear that nothing can be set in stone when it comes to how we release films during this global health crisis.

"That means pausing our release plans for Mulan as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world."

The upcoming Star Wars and Avatar films have also been postponed.

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