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The film giant is launching one of its long-awaited films directly on its streaming platform. A one-time decision motivated by Covid-19 as Disney assures or is the exclusivity of the cinema at stake?
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Disney’s latest quarterly report breathes corona tristesse. The lockdown cut deeply into the American entertainment giant
.
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There is a net loss of $ 4.7 billion. The closure of the theme parks and resorts alone accounts for an operating loss of $ 2 billion.
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Revenue drops 42 percent to $ 11.8 billion. Due to the closure of the cinemas, the film studios saw their income cut in half. The meltdown is even greater at theme parks, cruises and merchandising: -85 percent. Last year, this division accounted for almost a third of its turnover.
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The bright spot in the report is the streaming platform Disney +, where CEO Bob Chapek is only too happy to put the spotlight on.
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The lockdown also has a positive downside, many homeowners subscribed to the challenger of pioneer Netflix
. After less than months, the counter is at more than 60 million, a milestone that Netflix took no less than eight years for. Launches in our country Disney + mid-September, at 6.99 euros per month.
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One-off or forerunner?
In addition to the films and series of Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar, among others, we can prepare for ‘Mulan’. The live-action remake of the 1998 animated film of the same name disappears permanently from the cinema calendar, after Disney had already postponed the release twice due to the corona crisis. The film giant chooses to launch the print via its streaming platform.
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Mulan: on September + on Disney +, not in the cinema
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It is the youngest domino to fall into what looks like a remake of the film business. In March, NBCUniversal decided to launch ‘The Hunt’, ‘The Invisible Man’ and ‘Emma’ simultaneously on the big screen and in the living room (streaming). Will the so-called ‘theatrical window’ – the three-month exclusivity for cinema before the film be sold to other channels – experience its last sequel?
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A shortening or disappearance of that ‘window’ would be particularly bad news for cinema operators such as Kinepolis
. However, CEO Eddy Duquenne does not think the soup will be eaten as hot when served. The streaming platforms are waging a price war. The Disney offer ($ 7) costs half of a Netflix subscription. While an evening of cinema with two earns $ 20. The value of the window remains very high. The studios don’t postpone their releases for nothing. ‘ Note: the quote dates from May, so before Disney’s decision.
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Mulan is a one-off.
Bob Chapek
Disney CEO
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Does the American film giant throw the bat into the coop with Mulan – in this case the projection room of the cinema? During the analyst call about the results, CEO Chapek tried to mine the bomb. A ‘one-off’ move as a result of the pandemic rather than a major shift in film strategy.
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Disney does not just throw ‘Mulan’ on its streaming platform. To make up for lost movie revenue and recoup the $ 200 million movie budget, the movie costs $ 30 in the United States on top of the subscription fee.
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