Data gathered this weekend appeared to hold seismic news for Hollywood—specifically Disney. A report from Yahoo suggested that a shocking 9 million Disney+ users had streamed the studio’s Mulan remake in its first 12 days of release, translating into a gross of $261 million. That’s a staggering number for an on-demand rental and for an industry that’s been struggling through pandemic-related cinema closures. If Disney can make that kind of money without American theaters, does it need American theaters at all?
The only problem is, Mulan didn’t actually make $261 million in 12 days. Yahoo had misinterpreted numbers from an analytics firm that estimated Mulan’s viewership, and the firm’s co-founder clarified that grosses were more likely $60 million to $90 million—well below the movie’s reported budget of $200 million. Not only does it seem that Mulan made modest sums in the United States (though Disney has yet to release official numbers), but the movie also had a disappointing theatrical rollout in China. Another grand experiment by Hollywood in the COVID-19 era, another flop. As the end of 2020 draws near, studios still haven’t figured out a sustainable way to bring their most expensive blockbusters to audiences.