Anna Daniels
Live-action Mulan remake eyeing $85 million opening
While some film studios are shuffling release dates over coronavirus concerns, Disney is not only holding firm on its upcoming Mulan live-action remake, but early projections are coming in and the highly-anticipated film is looking at an approximately $85 million opening weekend, according to Deadline.
Early reports are putting the latest iteration of the classic Chinese folklore tale at a 3-day domestic start around the $85 million mark and that audience interest seems to be higher than previous live-action remakes such as Aladdin, which scored a $91.5 million opening, or The Jungle Book which earned $103.2 million, but lower than The Lion King, which took in $191.8 million, and Beauty and the Beast, which brought in $174.7 million.
Given this anticipation, some analysts believe the film could reach the $100 million mark in its opening, especially given the only real competition the film will see is Pixar’s Onward, which is scoring strong reviews from critics, and John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place Part II which is also high on audiences’ must-see lists. The Vin Diesel vehicle Bloodshot has not had much buzz around it from general audiences or fans of the comic, and Blumhouse’s The Hunt seemingly splitting audiences and critics down the middle.
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Mulan features a celebrated international cast led by Liu Yifei (The Forbidden Kingdom, Once Upon a Time) was cast as Hua Mulan following a year-long global casting search. Joining her are Donnie Yen (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) as Commander Tung; Jason Scott Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny) as Böri Khan; Yoson An (The Meg) as Cheng Honghui; with Gong Li (Memoirs of a Geisha, Raise the Red Lantern) as Xianniang and Jet Li (Shaolin Temple, Lethal Weapon 4) as the Emperor.
The film is directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Elizabeth Martin & Lauren Hynek based on the narrative poem “The Ballad of Mulan.”
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Mulan lands in theaters on March 27.
Written by: CS
