Movies: Mulan (2020)

[Jussi]

It really is. That's about how much it would cost, on average, to go to the theater to watch it, but you don't get the theater experience. Also, that's more than Disney would get from the average family because theaters aren't keeping a portion of that. It seems like, when other studios are trying to cut their losses, Disney is actually getting greedy. I hope that it backfires. I'd like to see digital releases be successful, but not at that price point. I think that $20 is a much more reasonable price. A couple could justify that because it's less than they'd pay at the box office. At $30, though, you'd have to be renting it for a family or a group of friends for it to be economical.

You're not getting it much in the states anyway... This is a much safer option.

 

[DynamiteKid]

So you are telling me that I have to pay $30 US to watch this on top of all the monthly fees which I have been doing since D+ came out. They’ve barely had any original programming.

Hard pass.........almost makes me want to cancel.

 

[Knave]

What exactly is the plan here? Will it ever become part of the regular Disney+ subscription?

Disney framed this so poorly and set a high price point relative to their recent past (Artemis Fowl came out at no additional charge) and their competition (Universal sells for 14.99 on Amazon and rents for 4.99).

They needed to explain better and the price point probably should have been lower. $30 and you have to stay subscribed to Disney?

It should have been:
We think Mulan is a blockbuster that historically would have been in theaters for so many months before a bluray/DVD release.
We will "rent it out" for that many months for X dollars.
After that period of time it will come to all subscribers.

or

You buy it you own it, you don't need a Disney+ subscription in addition to paying $30.

 

[John Price]

You bring up a good point that rentals are like 5 dollars on Google Play or Amazon or whatever you want. But this movie...30 dollars, on TOP of the Disney+ price fee.

If you went to a theater, you would pay 30 dollars, true. But you're also paying for 2 people if you're bringing a significant other, and sitting in plush chairs, reclining back drinking that soda or eating that popcorn. At home it's not the same.

My issue is also that a lot of us are going to rent the movie once and not watch it again. In that case, it should follow the model of 4 or 5 dollars. I'm not sure how new releases are charged on google play but I'm pretty sure it's not 30 dollars.

 

[John Price]

What exactly is the plan here? Will it ever become part of the regular Disney+ subscription?

Disney framed this so poorly and set a high price point relative to their recent past (Artemis Fowl came out at no additional charge) and their competition (Universal sells for 14.99 on Amazon and rents for 4.99).

They needed to explain better and the price point probably should have been lower. $30 and you have to stay subscribed to Disney?

It should have been:
We think Mulan is a blockbuster that historically would have been in theaters for so many months before a bluray/DVD release.
We will "rent it out" for that many months for X dollars.
After that period of time it will come to all subscribers.

or

You buy it you own it, you don't need a Disney+ subscription in addition to paying $30.

THis is a model for what they do with Black Widow or other movies going forward. If this works, it's conceivable they charge 30 dollars for the next MCU movies, to watch on Disney+. It'd net them a fortune but the price would be way more expensive than it should be. I go to MCU movies by myself, and I probably would have gone to Black Widow by myself, and I don't even spend 30 dollars at the theater, yet I'm expected to spend 30 dollars to watch Black Widow?

I hope they change the policy. IMO it's best to leave it included in the Disney+ fee. No need for additional payment.

 

[discostu]

THis is a model for what they do with Black Widow or other movies going forward. If this works, it's conceivable they charge 30 dollars for the next MCU movies, to watch on Disney+. It'd net them a fortune but the price would be way more expensive than it should be. I go to MCU movies by myself, and I probably would have gone to Black Widow by myself, and I don't even spend 30 dollars at the theater, yet I'm expected to spend 30 dollars to watch Black Widow?

I hope they change the policy. IMO it's best to leave it included in the Disney+ fee. No need for additional payment.

It would be great for consumers, but it's not really a viable strategy to release for free on D+ for movies of this budget.

I'm skeptical that this price point is going to work for most people, and likely won't help them recoup their investment in this film, but, there's not a lot of good options to release films right now.

I also don't think it's a good film to experiment on, as there's probably not a huge amount of people that need to see this film right away. The same approach for Black Widow would at least target the large number of people who regularly see MCU films on opening weekend, and want to see it before plot points get leaked.

 

[x Tame Impala]

$30??? Is that a joke? I shouldn’t be, but I’m a little surprised these Disney remakes are even moderately successful. I watched half of Lion King with the fiancé and it was terrible. I tried to watch Aladdin and I had to shut it off after 10 minutes.

If this $30 is the new model then Disney is out of their minds. Even for MCU movies. The only MCU movie I’d pay that much money for would’ve been Infinity War and Endgame, and that’s because it was the last chapter of a 10 year, 20-film experience.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Agreed, the idea of $20 for The Troll movie was not bad, especially since you didn't need to have a membership to a streaming service. But $30 seems high to me.

I have a family of 4. $30 is a bargain for me.

 

[StreetHawk]

$30??? Is that a joke? I shouldn’t be, but I’m a little surprised these Disney remakes are even moderately successful. I watched half of Lion King with the fiancé and it was terrible. I tried to watch Aladdin and I had to shut it off after 10 minutes.

If this $30 is the new model then Disney is out of their minds. Even for MCU movies. The only MCU movie I’d pay that much money for would’ve been Infinity War and Endgame, and that’s because it was the last chapter of a 10 year, 20-film experience.

I am surprised Disney is doing this with Mulan. Yes, money wise, they've been hit hard by the lockdown, with the theme parks and movies.

I don't think this will be standard practice moving forward.

Still, question the analysis behind this decision.

 

[beowulf]

I am surprised Disney is doing this with Mulan. Yes, money wise, they've been hit hard by the lockdown, with the theme parks and movies.

I don't think this will be standard practice moving forward.

Still, question the analysis behind this decision.

Thing is some in the industry think they are using a big movie like Mulan to test the waters. Some speculation is that they might do this with Black Widow if Mulan brings in enough money and new subscribers. I don't think it will become standard practice once theaters are back to normal but I would not be surprised to see it happen more often.

 

[x Tame Impala]

How many MCU movies would you pay $20-$30 for if this lockdown happened a few years ago? I can't think of many and i certianly don't think Black Widow would generate that interest

 

[Jussi]

30 bucks is about 25 euros. If I want the best movie experience, I have to take a 60 km buss ride to Turku. That's about 15 euros back and forth, add in the ticket price which these days is around 15 euros and I'm seriously considering paying that 25 euros to watch it at home, when ever I want and how many times I want.

 

[RandV]

I have a family of 4. $30 is a bargain for me.

I'd assume this is what they're going for, and it's a very corporate mindset. I recall in the hubbub when the Xbox One was announced and it was initially going to come packaged with and require their camera gadget, Microsoft had taken out a patent on using a camera to count the people in a room watching the TV and adjust the price of content accordingly. Not saying it's right but Disney isn't looking at your individual movie goer and trying to charge them $30 when a normal movie ticket is $15, they'd be thinking a family of 4 would pay $50 on tickets to see this in theater so we have to price the home experience against that.

It's not the same thing everyone else is doing but Disney has always been and done their own thing.

 

[discostu]

With regard to pricing for the home experience, it's worth pointing out that a few years ago, there was a company that was working on simultaneous release of big budget movies. It was a startup lead by the Sean Parker of Napster fame with a number if key Hollywood investors (Spielberg was one).

The idea was that you could rent a film while still in theatres. The price point was $50, so even mote than what's being proposed here.

It never took off as theatre owners were extremely hostile to the idea and were prepared to fight tooth and nail against it.

 

[Osprey]

It never took off as theatre owners were extremely hostile to the idea and were prepared to fight tooth and nail against it.

Last Friday, a Federal judge ruled in the DoJ's favor that the Paramount Consent Decrees are no longer necessary. This paves the way for studios to buy up theater chains, meaning that the theater owners could eventually be the studios, themselves. That'll mostly remove that particular roadblock to simultaneous theater and home releases that you mentioned.

 

[discostu]

Last Friday, a Federal judge ruled in the DoJ's favor that the Paramount Consent Decrees were no longer necessary. This paves the way for studios to buy up theater chains, meaning that the theater owners could eventually be the studios, themselves, removing that particular roadblock to simultaneous theater-home release that you mentioned.

The recent deal with AMC and Universal tools provide home streaming options 17 days after theatrical release also is a big games changer on this.

There's clearly big changes afoot in the industry. I'm still optimistic that theatrical experience will survive though. Going to the movies remains one off the cheapest nights out and my hope that once we're past the pandemic, that people are looking to embrace communal experiences.

 

[beowulf]

The recent deal with AMC and Universal tools provide home streaming options 17 days after theatrical release also is a big games changer on this.

There's clearly big changes afoot in the industry. I'm still optimistic that theatrical experience will survive though. Going to the movies remains one off the cheapest nights out and my hope that once we're past the pandemic, that people are looking to embrace communal experiences.

I think Netflix is at least part of what is pushing this change. Correct me if I am wrong they bought Hollywood's Graunman's Theater in order to officially release some of their movies not only online but also technically in theater, even if only one screen, to qualify for the Oscars.

 

[discostu]

I think Netflix is at least part of what is pushing this change. Correct me if I am wrong they bought Hollywood's Graunman's Theater in order to officially release some of their movies not only online but also technically in theater, even if only one screen, to qualify for the Oscars.

I'm not quite sure how that purchase fit into that Paramount decree, but, in general, the rise of Netflix is the biggest challenge in recent years the industry has faced up until the pandemic.

I still feel like the Movie Pass model may become the future of theatres. That venture failed, as they had no integration into the supply chain, so were paying retail for movie tickets and couldn't sustain themselves.

A major studio that also owns a national theater chain though could create a sustainable subscription model.

 

[Elvis P]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

I received an email. They want $30

 

[discostu]

$34.99 is the Canadian price.

That's less than what the exchange rate price is, which is a rarity when things get priced up here.

 

[John Price]

'Tenet,' 'Wonder Woman 1984' Poll High as Must-See Theatrical Movies - Variety

More movies exploring the pay model of Mulan

 

[kingsholygrail]

If you're single, it's a rip off basically.

 

[Jussi]

If you're single, it's a rip off basically.

Depends where you live.

 

[John Price]

If you're single, it's a rip off basically.

I see movies by myself or at most with one other person

I pay much less than 30.

30 for a family of four, to own the movie, is reasonable.

 

[discostu]

I'm going to take a guess and say that this is a movie that probably is targeting families and couples anyways. The value proposition isn't there for a single viewer, but, even in a theatrical setting, it was probably not going to make up a big part of the market.