I think they are testing the limits here. There is certainly a point beyond which the "willingness to pay" disappears and the movie becomes financially non-viable.
They could perhaps accept pre-orders to judge this and then introduce special deals, tie-ins, etc. to sweeten the deal if needed.
That's the thing. These are not normal times so "Mulan on Streaming" is not competing with "Mulan in the cinema" or any other movie in the cinema. You either watch it or you don't.
This movie is targeted at tweens/teens and the FOMO effect will be big. So if you have a tween in the house that wants to see the movie, you will pay those 30$. Not to mention the tweens who will be more than willing to shell out their own pocket money for it.
There are ways. I'm working on one right now!
It's not easy and go to market will take a looong time so I'm keeping my day job but I believe it's a problem worth solving.
Eh. Depends on how mission critical it is. I don't mind an appliance needing the internet as long as I can still physically operate it during downtime.
They could perhaps accept pre-orders to judge this and then introduce special deals, tie-ins, etc. to sweeten the deal if needed.