While we have seen a number of films skip planned theatrical releases and head straight to Premium VOD and/or streaming since the pandemic first shut down cinemas in March, perhaps the biggest move was made recently by Disney, who released the blockbuster “Mulan” directly on its Disney+ streaming service with an additional $30 fee. That move rocked the industry, as theaters were shocked by the change in plan and analysts began wondering if this move was just the first in a potential tidal wave of films that follow suit. Well, according to Disney CFO, Christine McCarthy, the decision to change “Mulan’s” release strategy wasn’t easy.
Speaking at the Citi 2020 Global Technology Conference (via Deadline), McCarthy explained the reasoning that went into Disney skipping theaters for “Mulan” and testing the waters of this new Disney+ Premier release strategy. Ultimately, she explained that it wasn’t one reason that caused the change but instead there were “so many factors at play.”
“We know what the statistics are on consumer behavior when people are asked, ‘Would you go to a theater?’” the Disney executive explained. “It’s gone up a bit in the last month, but a lot of that has to do with what demographic you’re in. In general, if you look at that research, you’ll generally see that older people are less likely. Probably younger people — the same people who are doing things we see on the news shows that they probably shouldn’t be doing, and crowding and partying — they’re probably more likely to go to a theater. But would a family with young kids go? Probably not.”
In fact, McCarthy explained that “at best 40%” of potential audiences would have gone to the theaters to see the film. So, Disney pulled the trigger on a streaming release for the $200 million feature, which has already shown some potential benefits.
“A collateral benefit is what we saw in some additional new subscribers. But that wasn’t the driving force,” she added.
Obviously, there were many that assumed Disney was looking for an opportunity to expand its streaming offerings and test out the idea of a PVOD option on its Disney+ service. And while that is clearly an experiment that could have huge implications on the future of the studio’s theatrical release plans moving forward, it appears that the decision for “Mulan” came down to the statistics that show people aren’t excitedly rushing back to theaters right now. Plus, there are still major markets (New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, for example) that aren’t open yet.
So, while the industry anxiously awaits the results of the “Mulan” experiment, for now, it seems as if Disney is just doing whatever the studio believes will attract the most viewers. And right now, for family-friendly fare, most are content with just watching at home.