Estimates Suggest That MULAN on Disney+ Has Raked in More Money Than TENET's Theatrical Release So Far

Theaters have taken a big hit this year with the mandated closures and slow reopenings to much smaller crowds. Tenet was the film that led many fans back into the big screen experience, and has done alright under the circumstances, bringing in roughly $30 million domestically, and $205 million globally, but this is definitely a disappointment from what the film would have made in a normal, non-pandemic theatrical release.

As for how Mulan has done with their virtual $30 Disney+ release, a recent report from Yahoo! Finance says:

Nearly 29% of U.S. households that subscribe to Disney+ purchased the $30 “Mulan” film through September 12th — far surpassing other popular (and free) titles on the platform.

During the company’s last earnings report, Disney said that the streaming platform has amassed over 60 million global subscribers. Assuming that U.S. households make up 50% of that total base (Disney has not yet broken out the exact number of U.S-based subscribers), 7Park’s data suggests that roughly 9 million users purchased the “Mulan” film for $30 a pop (29% of our estimated 30 million users.)

That points to at least a $261 million haul, surpassing the giant amount that Tenet should have brought it. It was learned that the virtual release was definitely profitable earlier this year when Trolls World Tour was released and made more money in three weeks on VOD than its original made in five months in theaters. The VOD release brings a purer profit to the studio without having to pay theaters for the spot to show the film.

I do hope that we are able to get back to theaters, but I am glad we get to see some movies while we wait. What do you think about the situation?