Lessons are already being learned from Mulan’s unique release
It looks like entertainment tycoon Walt Disney has pulled off yet another victory in its battle for audiences during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The House of Mouse recently released the live-action version of Mulan on its Disney+ streaming service and offered it to customers for $30 in addition to the regular Disney+ monthly subscription cost.
This was a test for the entertainment giant, and the data suggests that it seems to have paid off.
According to analytics research firm 7Park Data, a whopping 29% of all households in the United States that subscribe to the streaming video platform paid the full $30 for the new release by the beginning of this week. This represents a figure that is much larger than much other content available on Disney+.
This percentage has led 7Park to an estimate that about 9 million Disney+ users bought the live-action Mulan.
With those estimates, that puts the total revenue generated from the film from its Disney+ exclusive release at about $260 million, and that number does not consider international markets.
This form of release was considered a decent risk for Disney, as it relied on consumers to be willing to pay the high $30 cost and not receive any sales from the box office itself.
The company also announced prior to Mulan’s release that it would be free to subscribers as soon as December.
However, it appears that many families took advantage of the offer and the release also likely spurred growth of the subscription service itself.
In fact, one app download research firm maintained that the number of downloads that Disney+ generated went up 68% over the first weekend of the film’s release when compared to the previous weekend. Spending within the app also went up 193% because of this $30 offer.
Some did pay the $30, but were disappointed in the film itself.
All of this is good news for Disney and even other competing services. Of course, the numbers may not always be this high without a pandemic going on, but it is an important first step into what is a changing media landscape and a tough time for movie theaters.
The highly anticipated Tenet was released in theaters almost simultaneously as Mulan hit Disney+, but it did not fare nearly as well in the U.S.
Tenet earned $209 million globally, but just $29 million in the U.S.
Mulan did not perform quite as well overseas in theaters as it did on the Disney+ too, suggesting a shift may occur sooner rather than later.
