Come December, Disney Plus subscribers won't have to pay extra for 'Mulan' 

Disney Plus may be charging a $29.99 premium to watch the action-fantasy “Mulan,” but subscribers will be able to see it at no extra cost beginning Dec. 4, according to Deadline.com.

“Mulan” premiered on the streaming platform Friday and will be available for unlimited repeat viewings to subscribers who paid the extra $30, a tier Disney Plus calls Premiere Access. As of 2:59 a.m. on Nov. 2, the Premiere Access window will close. A month later, “Mulan” will reappear on the platform as part of the regular subscription fee. Disney Plus costs $6.99 per month or a yearly payment of $69.99.

“Mulan,” a live-action remake of Disney’s 1998 animated favorite, is the rare big-budget film to bow to the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic. With theaters around the country shuttered, studios have largely postponed their summer blockbusters until later this year or even next in hopes of generating the kind of ticket sales that come only from a theatrical release. Warner Bros. insisted on releasing Christopher Nolan’s action-thriller “Tenet” in U.S. theaters on Thursday, Sept. 3, even though the major markets of Los Angeles and New York remain closed.

Disney has called its “Mulan” strategy a one-off, but the film industry will be watching its performance closely. The longer theaters stay dark, the more studios may be tempted to shift their films to the at-home market. That could further hurt the theatrical exhibition industry, which is already concerned that when their venues reopen they will have few new movies to play.