Disney+ to offer 'Mulan' as $30 in-app purchase on iOS, Apple TV

Disney on Friday announced distribution plans for the hotly anticipated live action remake of "Mulan," saying the VOD release will be available to Disney+ subscribers as an in-app purchase.

The entertainment giant earlier in August said the film would hit Disney+ as a paid exclusive on "premier platforms," but failed to name partner providers, Deadline reports.

According to a Disney+ webpage, "Mulan" will be available from Sept. 4 as an in-app purchase on Apple, Roku and Google platforms. The film is also set to go up for purchase through Disney's website.

Disney+ subscribers are slated to get access to the film following its September premiere, though a streaming date has not been announced.

The move comes amid controversy surrounding app store fees implemented by Apple and Google, each of which faces lawsuits from developers for taking a slice of in-app transactions. By making "Mulan" available as an in-app Disney+ "premium" purchase, Disney subjects its film to app store fees, which in Apple's case is 30%.

"We thought we would give it a try, to try to recapture some of that investment that we've got," said Bob Chapek, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. Chapek characterized the "one-off" strategy as a "a chance to learn," Deadline reports.

48 Comments

bageljoey 18 Years · 1997 comments

About 4 years ago

Is the article conflating the 30% cut with a $30 price for the film?
That sounds a little high...

ihatescreennames 19 Years · 1977 comments

I saw this mentioned somewhere last week and people were freaking out about it in the comments. Mostly complaining they should get it free since they’re already paying for Disney+.

I’m still of the mindset that $30 at home is still less than tickets for (at least 2), snacks and a babysitter for 4-5 hours, so this sort of thing has a certain appeal. I likely won’t do it for Mulan but there are definitely movies I would pay that for.

anantksundaram 18 Years · 20391 comments

$30? Typo?

If not, LOL

entropys 13 Years · 4316 comments

ihatescreennames said:

I saw this mentioned somewhere last week and people were freaking out about it in the comments. Mostly complaining they should get it free since they’re already paying for Disney+.
I’m still of the mindset that $30 at home is still less than tickets for (at least 2), snacks and a babysitter for 4-5 hours, so this sort of thing has a certain appeal. I likely won’t do it for Mulan but there are definitely movies I would pay that for.

Corporate bean counters must just love this point of view. I hope they deliver a hamper to you for Christmas.

I will be damned if I pay extra. I have already told my daughters they can’t watch it until it is part of the subscription. Once subscribers let Disney get away with it once, it will be in for more and more. On top of a subscription.

if you want to rent there is iTunes movies.
,

entropys said:

ihatescreennames said:

I saw this mentioned somewhere last week and people were freaking out about it in the comments. Mostly complaining they should get it free since they’re already paying for Disney+.
I’m still of the mindset that $30 at home is still less than tickets for (at least 2), snacks and a babysitter for 4-5 hours, so this sort of thing has a certain appeal. I likely won’t do it for Mulan but there are definitely movies I would pay that for.

Corporate bean counters must just love this point of view. I hope they deliver a hamper to you for Christmas.

I will be damned if I pay extra. I have already told my daughters they can’t watch it until it is part of the subscription. Once subscribers let Disney get away with it once, it will be in for more and more. On top of a subscription.

if you want to rent there is iTunes movies.
,

I understand Disney’s problem. They spent big on this movie and they want some $$$ back—Disney+ isn’t going to add much in the way of new subscribers just for this movie, so I can understand charging a premium.

But I can’t see many people shelling out $30 for a rental when so many of us already have more streaming options than they can consume!

I wish them well, but I’ll wait...