Will Mulan & Black Widow Make Their Big League Debut On Digital?
So, one well-known YouTuber with a Rey Ordonez-esque career batting average (look it up) for predictions posted the following:
So I did some digging with all the chatter today, and apparently #Disney IS considering releasing not just #BlackWidow but also #Mulan straight to streaming.
Price points, purchase vs rental, when to #DisneyPlus all still up in the air.
Developing… pic.twitter.com/cusULkYmQW
— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) March 28, 2020
And everyone went nuts.
But is it going to happen?
Well, judging by a few other sources, the answer is… probably not.
Our favorites over at New Rockstars contend there’s no way for Disney to make back the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to make back the production costs of Black Widow (and, for sake of argument, Mulan) via digital release and Disney+.
Meanwhile, Polygon’s Austen Goslin wrote a treatise on the subject.
Blockbuster movies… make an immense amount of money in theaters. The first upcoming 2020 movie that got fans excited about the prospect of a shift to a digital debut was Disney’s Mulan. But it’s the live-action remake of one of Disney’s ’90s princess staples, and most of Disney’s live-action movies have been huge box-office winners. It’s also a historical epic about the history of China — one of the countries where audiences most often show up for blockbuster movies, Disney or otherwise. In 2019, the North American box office dipped to $11.45 billion in grosses (thanks in large part to Disney). Meanwhile, the Chinese box office rose to $9.2 billion, with 35.9% of the total coming from imported films. For giant blockbusters, there’ money to be made far beyond the States… The same argument holds true for Disney and Marvel’s Black Widow, a movie in the top-grossing franchise of all time. The latest Marvel movie was originally scheduled for release on May 1 but has since been postponed with no definitive release date, but it’s sure to be a success no matter when Disney decides to put it out.
A fascinating article and video. And sure, I hope that New Rockstars and Polygon to be wrong. Even Rey-Rey hit 12 home runs.
But with prediction averages well above the Mendoza line (look it up; did I mention I miss baseball), I don’t expect them to strikeout.
See you at the cineplex (and ballbark), whenever that may be.