‘Mulan’ Is Coming Early to Disney+ for Apple Users — as an In-App Purchase

Although Disney+ is pretty much an all-you-can-eat buffet for all things Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, and more, it seems that the entertainment giant is planning to try holding at least a few things back as part of a premium video-on-demand (VOD) service, as we’ve recently seen with the release of its latest blockbuster live-action remake, Mulan.

Disney already announced earlier this month that Mulan would be coming directly to the streaming service instead of launching first in theatres, since that’s something that’s simply not practical right now, but unlike the early debut of Frozen 2 and Onward back in March, Disney actually plans to charge extra to its subscribers who want to catch Mulan early.

To be fair, Frozen 2 did have its big-screen debut already long before it was released on Disney+, and even Onward got a brief two-week run in theatres before cinema doors slammed shut in the midst of worldwide lockdowns. By contrast, Disney announced at the time that Mulan, which was originally supposed to arrive in theatres this past spring, would be delayed indefinitely.

Of course, as the global pandemic has worn on, and many theatre-going audiences are still being very cautious, Disney has obviously decided that a theatrical run is not in the cards. In contrast to its Hollywood rivals like Sony Pictures, however, which was was happy to farm out Tom Hanks’ Greyhound to Apple at no extra cost, Disney clearly feels that it has an opportunity to cash in on the release of Mulan.

The result is that Disney+ subscribers who want to see the film right away will need to pony up an extra $30 to have it added to their Disney+ library. Of course, Mulan will come to all Disney+ subscribers eventually, but this is a “premium VOD” service, not unlike the deal Apple has been working out with the studios for years for early access movie rental releases.

However, while Apple’s plan would be to allow for $20+ rentals for all iTunes Store users, on the surface Disney’s plan may seem a little bit more like nickel-and-diming when you consider that Mulan will only be available to those that are already Disney+ subscribers. In other words, if you want to watch the movie right away, you’ll have to pay $30 in addition to your normal $7/month subscription — and you’ll have to keep paying your monthly subscription if you want to keep the movie.

To be fair, however, the premium VOD service that Apple is proposing would likely only be the usual 48-hour rentals (at best), after which you’d lose access to the movie entirely, so Disney’s strategy here isn’t completely unreasonable; as long as you maintain your Disney+ subscription, once you’ve paid the $30 for Mulan it will remain in your library and you can rewatch it as often as you like.

Disney Is Playing Nice with Apple

What’s interesting here in stark contrast to the App Store battles being waged by companies like Epic Games and Spotify is that Disney seems more than happy to allow users to pay for Mulan via in-app purchase on the App Store directly through the Disney+ app, which means that Apple will almost certainly get its 30 percent cut of each sale.

This is despite the fact that like many rival streaming services, Disney+ of course offers sign-ups and purchases directly on its website, including the ability to buy Mulan, so there’s really no need for the company to use in-app purchases, and it’s extremely unlikely that Apple would force it to do so. After all, Netflix and Spotify have both been exempt from requiring IAPs in their apps for years now, and unlike the Hey email app, Disney+ is definitely in the same category as those others.

Disney is also not offering any discounts for purchasing through its website, nor is it trying to mark up the price on the App Store to make up for the 30 percent cut. Mulan will be $30 no matter where you buy it, but presumably Disney pockets more of that money if you go straight to its website. Of course, it’s also possible that Disney (being Disney) has managed to work out a special deal with Apple similar to what Amazon did, but that seems unlikely if Apple’s actual IAP system is being used; Amazon’s arrangement allows the Amazon payment system to be used for those who are already Prime subscribers and have a payment method on file with Amazon, but it still falls back to a standard in-app purchase otherwise, and there’s no indication that Apple has reduced its cut in any way for the transactions that it handles directly.

To be clear, Apple isn’t alone here in this offering; it appears that Disney will also be allowing Google and Roku users to purchase Mulan through those payment systems, with those companies also taking at least some percentage of the sales. However, that doesn’t seem to extend to every platform where Disney+ is available. Notably, Disney’s FAQ omits any mention of others like Amazon Fire TV, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft’s Xbox, although this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to watch the movie on those platforms; once you’ve purchased Mulan either on Disney’s website or one of the participating premium VOD platforms, it should appear in your library like any other Disney+ title, meaning you’ll be able to watch it from anywhere Disney+ is available.

While Disney of all companies can certainly afford to give up some of its revenue to Apple, at the end of the day this is still a business decision — multi-billion dollar companies don’t become multi-billion dollar companies by making emotional decisions — and it’s obviously one that makes sense even for an entertainment behemoth like Disney that most definitely doesn’t need Apple’s help to attract customers.

After all, Disney’s goal is still to get as many eyeballs paying for its content as possible, and it’s obviously decided that giving up 30 percent of its revenue is worth it if it makes life easier for potential customers, and after all, 70% of the revenue from a few million extra customers is still better than 100% of the revenue from none of those customers.

It’s almost certainly the same logic that has had Disney offering in-app subscriptions through its iOS app from the very beginning, but it’s a really interesting contrast to the many companies that actually have risen to prominence thanks to the App Store are now biting the hand that once fed them. If anything, Disney is probably the only company out there that has never really needed any help from Apple, and therefore the one that would have the strongest moral high ground if it wanted to try and argue that it doesn’t really owe the App Store anything.

Of course, Mulan will eventually land on Disney+ anyway at no extra cost, although Disney hasn’t shared any insights as to when that might happen, so users who don’t feel a burning need to watch the movie right away can save $30 simply by waiting for the normal release, but if you’re looking for something to watch this fall while still hunkering down at home, Mulan will land on Disney+ on September 4th.