Pricey ‘Mulan’ Still Near Top of Streaming Charts, Along with ‘Ava’ and ‘Trump Card’

Tom Brueggemann
·5 min read
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The range of pricing in VOD play has never been so clear. Two films at the extreme ranges of budget and premium stand out among new releases. At $3.99, which represents rock-bottom for a new film, Dinesh D’Souza’s latest right-wing polemic “Trump Card” is #1 at both Apple TV and Google Play, charts that rank by transaction volume.

At the same time, Disney’s “Mulan” is now available on platforms beyond Disney+ for $29.99, and is #1 at the revenue-based FandangoNow. “Ava” also continues its successful showings, with first place at Spectrum (their weekly chart ends on Thursday, limiting the showings for the two more recent releases).

“Trump Card” is pitched as an expose of “socialism, corruption, and the deep state,” and clearly aimed at Election Day interest. In his past films (which received theatrical release), D’Souza preferred to specifically demonize Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. This time, the target is far broader than the tougher-to-hate Joe Biden. It placed #2 at FandangoNow, where its low price hurts its ranking.

With its high-priced PVOD play, the performance of “Mulan” remains a mystery that may not be answered until Disney’s next earnings call. After five weeks of Disney+ play (subscription required, along with the $29.99 price), it now can be bought by non-subscribers. It reached #1 for two days at Apple TV, no higher than #3 at Google Play — again, less able to compete with volume purchases. Presumably, a large proportion of those willing to pay the high price have already seen it.

Six other new originals placed on charts this week, including Lionsgate thriller “The Doorman,” from Japanese genre director Ryuhei Kitamura (“Versus,” “Azumi”), starring Ruby Rose and Jean Reno and shot in Romania (but set in New York) and the Sundance-premiered “Save Yourselves!”, which debuted on Tuesday after some theater play.

The highest on any list was #5 for animated original “Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo!” with #5 at Apple. Single listings included James Toback’s “An Imperfect Murder,” little seen since its 2017 Venice premiere. That 71-minute film from another filmmaker who was tarred by allegations of bad behavior stars Alec Baldwin and Sienna Miller, enough to get it attention. “The Wolf of Snow Hollow,” a comedy-thriller, and “Rogue Warfare: Death of a Nation,” about world powers joining together to fight terrorism, also had a 10th-place showing.

“Antebellum” reduced its premium price to $14.99. It remains on three of the four charts. Now in its fourth week, it still looks like a success (though, as always, we have no precise figures).

In our weird new world, two films in the top 10 theatrically – “Hocus Pocus” and “Beetlejuice,” which also placed on some of the lists.

Netflix returned to its happiest place. “Hubie Halloween,” their latest original Adam Sandler comedy, settled in at #1 as soon as possible. It displaced “American Murder: The Family Next Door” which had ranked on top for the first part of the week.Netflix is home these days for many Sandler releases, including earlier theatrical ones. “Big Daddy” currently ranks #4.

Looming large, now at #2, is the latest “American Pie” offshoot, produced by Universal, also available on VOD. “Girls Rules” is the first in the franchise with female leads, no Eugene Levy, and no male nudity.

Missing at least initially is “The Forty-Year-Old-Version,” Rahda Blank’s acclaimed, Sundance-premiered film. It had some minor initial theater play the previous week, which garnered good reviews (80 at Metacritic).

Apple TV

Ranked by number of transactions, with position as of Monday, October 12

1. Trump Card (Cloudburst) – $3.99

2. Ava (Vertical) – $6.99

3. Mulan (Disney) – $29.99

4. Limitless (Relativity) – $2.99

5. Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo! (Warner Bros.) – $4.99

6. The Doorman (Lionsgate) – $5.99

7. Hocus Pocus (Disney) – $3.99

8. Save Yourselves! (Bleecker Street) – $5.99

9. Upgrade (BH Tilt) – $3.99

10. The Assistant (Bleecker Street) – $3.99

FandangoNOW

Ranked by revenue accrued not transactions, for October 5-11

1. Mulan (Disney) – $29.99

2. Trump Card (Cloudburst) – $29.99

3. Ava (Vertical) – $6.99

4. Antebellum (Lionsgate) – $14.99

5. Cut Throat City (Well Go USA) – $12.99

6. An Imperfect Murder (Quiver) – $5.99

7. The Doorman (Lionsgate) – $5.99

8. The Wolf of Snow Hollow (Orion) – $14.99

9. Save Yourselves! (Bleecker Street) – $5.99

10. Bill & Ted Face the Music (United Artists) – $19.99

Spectrum

Ranked by transactions between October 2-8; all priced $6.99 except where noted

1. Ava (Vertical)

2. The Secret: Dare to Dream (Gravitas Ventures)

3. Antebellum (Lionsgate) – $14.99

4. Then Came You (Vertical)

5. Death of Me (Saban)

6. Cats & Dogs 3: Paws United (Warner Bros.)

7. Trolls World Tour (Universal)

8. Blackbird (Screen Media)

9. The 2nd (Momentum)

10. Rogue Warfare: Death of a Nation (Saban)

Google Play

Ranked by number of transactions, with the daily position as of Monday, October 12

1. Trump Card (Cloudburst) – $3.99

2. Ava (Vertical) – $6.99

3. Mulan (Disney) – $29.99

4. 2067 (RLJE) – $6.99

5. The King of Staten Island (Universal) – $5.99

6. Alone (Magnolia) – $6.99

7. Antebellum (Lionsgate) – $14.99

8. Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount) – $4.99

9. The Tax Collector (RLJE) – $6.99

10. Beetlejuice (Warner Bros.) – $3.99

Netflix Movies

Most-viewed, current ranking as of Monday, October 12

1. Hubie Halloween (2020 Netflix original)

2. American Pie: Girls’ Rules (2020 Universal original)

3. American Murder: The Family Next Door (Netflix 2020 documentary original)

4. Big Daddy (1999 theatrical release)

5. Enola Holmes (2020 Netflix original)

6. Colombiana (2011 theatrical release)

7. Employee of the Month (2006 theatrical release)

8. The Croods (2013 theatrical release)

9. Super Monsters: Dia de los Monsters (2020 Netflix original)

10. The Outpost (2020 VOD /drive in release)

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