LOS ANGELES, September 10 ― Walt Disney Co is “very pleased” with the early results of its unusual release strategy for an epic live-action movie MulaneCFO Christine McCarthy said at an investor conference yesterday.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mulane was made available for purchase in the United States on the Disney+ streaming platform over Labor Day weekend and in theaters in a few other countries.
The film will debut in cinemas in China, the world’s second largest cinema market, tomorrow.
“We’re very pleased with what we saw” over Labor Day weekend, said McCarthy, who spoke via online video at the Citi 2020 Global Technology Conference.
Mulane, a US$200 million (RM834 million) remake of a Disney animated classic about a female warrior in China, was designed to appeal to audiences in the country. But the film has sparked controversy over its star’s support for Hong Kong police and for being partly filmed in the Xinjiang region, where China’s crackdown on Uyghurs and other Muslims has been criticized by some governments, including the United States, and human rights groups. .
Disney originally planned to release the film in theaters around the world in March, but scrapped that plan when the novel coronavirus spread.
McCarthy said Disney finally decided to launch Mulane online in markets where Disney+ is available as many theaters remained closed and surveys showed most people weren’t ready to return to theaters during the pandemic.
“It was not an easy decision to make because there were so many factors at play here,” she said.
Samba TV, which tracks smart TV viewership, estimated that more than 1.1 million US households paid US$30 each to watch Mulane on Disney+ between Friday and Monday.
That would translate to $33.5 million in revenue from the film, plus additional revenue for anyone who becomes a new Disney+ monthly subscriber.
Samba TV said its estimates were calculated using data from smart TV owners who opted in to the Samba TV app and agreed to provide viewing information. Disney had no comment on Samba TV’s numbers. ― Reuters
