“Let’s Get Down To Business.” The live-action Mulan adaptation is upon us and the film has finally hit box office tracking but with Coronavirus fears rising all over the world, how much will Mulan’s box office potential be hurt on a global scale?
According to tracking released this morning, Mulan is on track to open between $80-90 million. Some even think $100 million is in play because even though the film abandons the talking dragon and signature songs of the 1998 animated film, Mulan is standing out because it doesn’t feel like a carbon copy of the original, much like many of the other live-action Disney adaptations have been accused of being.
In terms of first choice among moviegoers, Mulan is registering higher than such Disney live-action reboots like Aladdin ($91.5 million opening) and The Jungle Book, ($103.2 million opening) but lower than The Lion King ($191.8 million opening) and Beauty and the Beast ($174.7 opening). Even on the lower end of that awareness, Mulan is in pretty good company and if reviews are solid, it could definitely up the film’s profile heading into its opening weekend.
The huge caveat for the reportedly $200 million film is the Coronavirus pandemic which has been a global issue but the source of the virus originating in China has put a major dent in that marketplace’s box office. Mulan was expected to perform very well there back when the first trailer was released since it hit a record number of views in that market but the film will now not be able to go day and date with the domestic release due to the exhibition structure being closed in the PRC due to the Coronavirus. Japan and South Korea are also not a part of the opening suite for Mulan given the COVID-19 virus.
Mulan isn’t the only casualty of these concerns. Just yesterday MGM/Eon/Universal’s No Time to Die moved off its April 10 date and pushed its release to Thanksgiving, largely because they want to give the global box office time to recover in the wake of the Coronavirus. This is likely to be a concern for major tentpole releases moving forward but so far films like Black Widow or Fast & Furious 9 have not announced plans to push back their releases, despite both films having huge worldwide potential.
Despite all this, Mulan is still poised for a stellar opening on the domestic front and all eyes will be on the film to see if it can overcome the box office struggles due to the global pandemic. Mulan hits screens on March 27.
