There has been some speculation as to how much Disney’s Mulan will cost when it premieres exclusively on Disney+. Will everyone be able to buy it? And, will customers “own” the Premium VOD title once purchased?
But emails sent from the studio confirm Disney+ subscribers can get “Premier Access” to the film for $29.99 starting on Sept. 4th. This means that you will need Disney+ to purchase and watch the movie upon its initial release. And, the purchase is on top of the monthly subscription fee.
However, many of us also wanted some clarification on whether or not the $30 is to purchase or rent the film. It seems to be a little bit of both. Disney says once you buy Mulan you will be able to stream or download it as many times as you want — AS LONG AS you have a Disney+ subscription.
[Update] Disney clarifies Mulan will stream for free to all Disney+ subscribers on December 4, 2020. Those who want early access to the film will have to pay $29.99 and have a Disney+ subscription.
It will be interesting to see if Disney offers a free month or extended subscription to Disney+ with the purchase of Mulan — a promotional deal that could boost their subscriber base.
As far as streaming quality, Mulan will be offered in 4k UHD with HDR and Dolby Audio on supporting devices and TVs. We don’t know if Dolby means Atmos 7.1 channels or just 5.1 channels, but considering Disney+ has a quite a few titles with Atmos it would not be a surprise if Mulan was encoded with the format.
In other Disney news, the company denies rumors that they were looking to end the release of catalog titles to 4k Ultra HD Blu-ray. “There are no plans to discontinue releases in a particular format,” Disney told Forbes.
