Disney Confirms Mulan’s July Theatrical Release Date

Disney’s CEO has confirmed the studio is still planning Mulan for a July 2020 release date. The live-action film was just a couple weeks away from hitting theaters when the coronavirus pandemic took a turn for the worse in March, prompting Disney to pull it off the calendar. It was later rescheduled to arrive on July 24, at a point when multiple theaters chains are hoping to be reopen and showing new movies. However, the reality is the ongoing pandemic is still a fluid situation and there’s no guarantee it’ll be safe enough for theaters to stick to their current timetable for resuming operations.

There are other reasons to wonder if Disney is being overly optimistic with Mulan‘s new release date. Even if theaters are screening new films in certain areas towards the end of July, attendance will undoubtedly be limited for social distancing purposes, and it’s possible larger markets (in both the U.S. and worldwide) will hold off on reopening until later, resulting in a lower box office turnout for Mulan. But in spite of all that, the Mouse House has yet to waver from their newly-charted path.

Speaking to CNBC, newly-appointed Disney CEO Bob Chapek confirmed the studio is still planning to release Mulan in July, saying “At Disney, we’re a bunch of optimists, and I think that’s a very good release date for this particular title.” At the same time, he agreed Disney’s theatrical releases are going to be “a stair step situation” and the studio will takes things one film at a time, similar to how they’re approaching the process of reopening their theme parks.

Both Disney and Warner Bros. are in the same boat right now. The latter has Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi film Tenet scheduled to open a week before Mulan on July 17, in the hope of it becoming the movie to welcome audiences back to theaters. However, they’ve reached the point where they have to decide whether to restart the film’s marketing campaign in time to make its current date or push it back. The studio is expected to make an official decision on the matter within the week; if they stick with Tenet‘s mid-July release, it will encourage Disney to stay the course… but if they delay it, it could be the push the studio needs to finally move Mulan back again.

As much as many moviegoers would no doubt love to be able to watch films like Mulan and Tenet in a theater this July, health and safety have to come first. Combined with the question of whether it even makes sense to release Mulan that month from a business perspective, and it’s entirely possible Disney will back-track on its stance within the next eight weeks (if not much sooner). Obviously, the hope is things will improve enough by then for people to be able to safely enjoy a few summer blockbusters on the big screen, but otherwise it’s not at all worth the risk. In the meantime, everyone should keep practicing social distancing and we’ll see what happens with Mulan down the line.