Disney’s Bob Chapek “Satisfied” But Still Mom on the Numbers – Deadline

If you’re dying to know what the total revenue for the combined PVOD / Disney + / Disney overseas theatrical release experience was Mulan, Well, we just have to wait for Studio Investor Day on December 10th. This is when they will tell us more.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said Thursday in the fourth quarter and year-end that he was “pleased with the results of Mulan as a world-first access title ”, which reignited the studio’s foray by providing additional level PVOD access to Disney + subscribers to a premium title, this one originally intended for a theatrical release in the whole world. Disney sold Mulan at $ 29.99 more for Disney + members where the streaming service was available in markets (i.e. US, UK). The photo was theatrically released abroad in markets where cinemas were fully open, i.e. in Asia, with Mulan see $ 66.8 million, a majority of that figure from China.

The industry buzz has been that the Mulan The experiment, at least on the streaming side, was not a success, given the studio’s silence when it comes to revenue reporting and audience numbers. Other factors giving rise to doubt Mulan: Disney was quick to announce the film’s free availability on December 4 for Disney + subscribers, days before its PVOD release on September 4. Why do that? Another indication Mulan The immediate success wasn’t how quickly it accelerated to regular PVOD (outside of Disney +). Oh, and let’s not forget that Disney is making another theatrical release, Pixar Soul, available free of charge on December 25. Yes Mulan so well, again, why do that?

“Unfortunately, the title has sparked controversy in the United States and around the world,” Chapek said today of Mulan, “But we saw positive results knowing we had something in the top notch access strategy.”

Regarding manufacturing Soul available for free on Disney + and not implementing a PVOD-Disney + strategy first on this title, the CEO said: “In terms of Soul, we also realize that the lifeblood of disney + is delivering content to core subscribers. The idea was that it was a very nice gesture to remove it during the holiday period and provide it on the service.

All that said, it’s plausible Mulan may have contributed to a spike in Disney + subs, although Chapek did not say so today. Disney + reported 73.7 million subscribers as of September 30, up from 60.5 million subscribers in August.

Separately, outside of Disney, Nielsen reported earlier this fall that Mulan made its list of the top 10 broadcasts for the week of August 31 through September 6 at # 10 with 525 million minutes viewed. In comparison, Netflix Cobra Kai was No. 1 that week with 2.17 billion minutes viewed.