It’s probably safe to expect more movies for $ 30 on Disney +

Disney + unsurprisingly blew subscriber expectations up, and Disney executives have made it clear during the company’s earnings call this week that they expect to increase these numbers by investing more content for the platform. But if Disney brings more premium titles to the service like it did with Mulan, we can be expected to pay for it.

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek acknowledged in the company’s earnings report released Thursday that experiments and parks continue to be affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has forced capacity restrictions and security protocols in places where Disney properties are even allowed to open. (Disney chiefs seemed especially upset that its parks remain closed in California, where cases of covid-19 are back on the rise– which, read the room, folks.) But its Disney + streaming service unsurprisingly made a massacre, surpassing 73 million paying subscribers in early October.

“The real bright spot has been our direct-to-consumer business, which is key to the future of our business, and on this anniversary of the launch of Disney +, we’re happy to report that at the end of the fourth quarter. , the service had over 73 million paying subscribers, far exceeding our expectations in its first year alone, ”Chapek said in a statement.

During its call for results, Disney executives revealed the company now has 120 million. paying subscribers worldwide through its various streaming properties, including those of ESPN and Hulu. And that number will likely continue to grow, especially as Disney + sees new international markets and adds more exclusive titles to its service.

The company said it plans to continue investing in new Disney + content, which executives say is a big plus for adding new subscribers. But it’s probably safe to expect that at least when it comes to the bigger titles, like those that were previously slated for theatrical release, we’ll have to pay for it. Disney executives said they were very happy with the company’s results large premium video on demand experience with Mulan—Without ensuing controversial, which frames were do not satisfied – indicating there’s a good chance we could see more $ 30 Disney movies coming to the platform if theatrical closures continue.

Now, the company hasn’t spoken directly about any Premier Access titles in development, and Disney has in the past framed Mulanrelease as title PVOD as unique experience. But after the film’s release, Sensor Tower data estimated that Mulan resulted in a 68% increase in Disney + app installs compared to a three-day window from the previous week.

Given that the end of the pandemic is currently a distant prospect, and given the number of titles in Disney’s portfolio planned exit Next year, it’s hard to imagine that Disney won’t take another opportunity to charge us an unholy sum to watch a new title from the safety of our own homes. I mean, is Disney really gonna delay the Black Widow theatrical release indefinitely? Troll world tour made $ 95 million in its first three weeks as a PVOD version. Troll world tour, for God’s sake!

And why wouldn’t Disney charge us for the ears to stream their new movies? After all, we have shown that we are willing to pay for them.