Disney had the world premiere of their forthcoming live-action feature 'Mulan' in Los Angeles as scheduled, even though the coronavirus outbreak will keep it out of China, the second-largest film market, indefinitely. The premiere went on as planned amid fears of COVID-19, not following the lead of several festivals and events that were cancelled, a major instance being that of the James Bond flick 'No Time To Die', which was pushed back to November from April.

The film is based on Chinese folklore, with an all-Asian cast, and most importantly, a Chinese leading lady. The studio will take a massive hit because of the lockdown in China. Italy on Tuesday placed the entire country on lockdown and France has banned gatherings of more than 1,000 people in a bid to contain the virus. Hollywood studio executives are closely watching the spread of the coronavirus and the upcoming film calendar. Summer blockbuster season is scheduled to kick off May 1 with Disney's Marvel adventure 'Black Widow', followed by a new Fast and Furious spectacle from Universal Pictures, a Top Gun sequel from Paramount Pictures, and other big-budget action flicks.

However, discreet precautions were taken by the Dolby Theatre and the attendees. There were hand sanitizing stations placed throughout the red carpet area and the Dolby Theatre. Even during the reception, workers were politely vigilant when it came to the food.

Director Niki Caro walked on stage and introduced the film but before doing so, she talked about the film's journey and her excitement of sharing it with the world. She talked about the film promoting women as warriors rather than their traditional expected gendered roles. She also expressed gratitude over having been allowed to direct a film based on legendary Chinese source material. She addressed the 'challenging' time we are in right now- specifically in China. She hopes that the film will help lift spirits and give the drive to persevere through the current outbreak. From there, she brought out the cast including Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Yoson An, Jet Li, Nelson Lee, Jun Yu, Jimmy Wong, Doua Moua, Ron Yuan, Rosalind Chao, Tzi Ma and, of course, the lead actress, Liu Yifei.

The American action-drama film is based on the Chinese folklore 'The Ballad of Mulan' and is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1998 animated classic. The film was released in Dolby Theatre on March 9th and will release worldwide on March 27th.