It has been such a fairytale ending so far for "Beauty and the Beast," as the live-action remake of the animated classic smashes box office numbers left and right and breaks records previously held by giants.
"Beauty and the Beast" roared to the top of the box office with opening weekend numbers at around $180 million domestically and $357.1 million globally. According to Deadline, industry experts are expecting film to hit the 1 billion mark throughout its entire run.
The Disney remake that stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast has already broken five box office records so far. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Beauty and the Beast" scored the top opening of all time for a PG-rated film. The film saw a high number of audiences in China and the United Kingdom/
"Beauty and the Beast" also claimed the throne in terms of having the biggest domestic turnouts in almost a year. The movie currently has the biggest debut in North America, a title previously held by "Captain America: Civil War." The movie wasn't at all expected to dethrone "Civil War" and edge out heavy hitters such as "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."
Another box office title earned by "Beauty and the Beast" is having the biggest debut of all time for a female-fueled film. Most box office standouts have been led by male characters and is often testosterone-heavy. Movies with strong female leads are still lacking in Hollywood, but "Beauty and the Beast" is ready to change the game and female movie-goers are ready to support it.
Female viewers amounted to 70 percent of ticket buyers for "Beauty and the Beast." The numbers later evened out to 60 percent. The more recent films that came close to what Watson's film has achieved are Jennifer Lawrence's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," which debuted at $158.1 million, and Kristen Stewart's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which opened with $142 million.
Disney has released several live action remakes of classics before, but "Beauty and the Beast" is the best in its class. It trumped the box office cume for "Alice in Wonderland," which only debuted to $116.1 million.
Interestingly, "Beauty and the Beast" managed to beat out another one of Watson's movies. In the Biggest domestic box office launch list, "Beauty and the Beast" knocked out "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" from the seventh spot. The wizarding film earned $169.2 million during its opening weekend, Vanity Fair reported.
"Beauty and the Beast" also stars Luke Evans, Gosh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.