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Mulan remake coming to Disney Plus in September but subscribers will have to fork out to watch

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Krystal SandersThe West Australian
The live action remake of Mulan will skip theatres and be released on Disney Plus.
Camera IconThe live action remake of Mulan will skip theatres and be released on Disney Plus. Credit: AP

The live action remake of Mulan will skip theatres and be released on Disney Plus.

The news is another blow to theatres and avid cinema-goers as the studio scraps a theatrical release and instead will see the $US200 million dollar blockbuster released on the streaming platform from September 4.

The film will not be included as part of the monthly subscription cost, incurring an additional “premium rental” charge of $US29.99, but no word yet on what the charge will be for Australian customers.

The film will still be released in cinemas that do not have access to Disney Plus, including China.

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Mulan was originally slated for release in March and had already held premieres in Los Angeles and London until the coronavirus pandemic delayed it’s release, much like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.

The film will not be included as part of the monthly subscription cost, incurring an additional “premium rental” charge of $US29.99.
Camera IconThe film will not be included as part of the monthly subscription cost, incurring an additional “premium rental” charge of $US29.99. Credit: null

The film, directed by New Zealander Niki Caro, follows other cinema releases going straight to streaming release, including Tom Hanks’ WWII epic Greyhound, Trolls World Tour and Artemis Fowl.

Despite the ongoing pandemic playing havoc with film release dates, Disney chief executive Bob Chapek has attempted to hush rumours of a potential new business model. The platform already has 60.5 million subscribers, according to Variety.

“We’re pleased to bring Mulan to a consumer base that’s been waiting for it as we’ve had to move our (release) dates several times,” 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.

“We find it very interesting to take a premiere offering to consumers at that $29.99 price and learn from it.

“From our research under a premiere access offering, not only does it get us revenue from our original transaction ... but it’s a fairly large stimulus to sign up for Disney Plus.”

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