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Disney’s decision to bypass a traditional theatrical release forMulanhasnot been well-received by moviegoersand exhibitors, with the latter finding themselves struggling to stay afloat as studios continue to postpone films. Deadline tracked down Lemoine, owner of the independent theater Cinepal, who explained whyMulangoing to Disney+ will negatively impact the re-opening plans of exhibitors. “It’s really a huge effort to stay open right now for most of us, but we were assuming there would be some ambitious movie releases in the coming weeks. By losingMulan, we lost the possibility of offering our audiences a long-awaited film that would have helped us after these past hard weeks. It is also a bad message to send to the public [who had been expecting a theatrical release],” he said. Although Lemoine said that exhibitors in France still hope they can rely on Disney to release 20th Century Studios’The King’s Manin September, its decision regardingMulanis “very hard and devastating.”
Mulanis Disney’s latest in a long line of live-action remakes. Although the critical reception towards these remakes has been mixed, most have proven to be financial successes, withThe Lion King,Aladdin, andBeauty and Beastgrossing over $1 billion worldwide.
On one hand, fans can probably understand Disney’s decision to makeMulanavailable on Disney+ next month. After all,audiences didn’t exactly flock to theaters in the usual numbersafter China re-opened most of its venues and with the pandemic currently worsening in the United States, North America might see similar results.
However, the viewpoint of exhibitors is also understandable considering movie theaters have been one of the areas hit hardest by the pandemic. Although Disney may have decided to avoid additional losses in marketing costs, one might argue that the House of Mouse could afford to make that sacrifice while exhibitors can’t.
Mulanwill be released on September 4th, 2020, on Disney+.
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