Disney’s live-action musical remake ofBeauty and the Beastis a box office smash, and it’s officially crossed the ultimate benchmark for studio tentpoles – $1 billion at the worldwide box office.Bill Condon’s spin on the beloved Disney animated classic joins the billion dollar club less than a month of landing in US theaters on March 17.
The studio sent out a press release announcing its accomplishment, which pointed out that not only had the film become 2017’s first film to cross $1 billion and is now the highest grossing film of the year, it’s also the highest-grossing live-action musical of all time.
While the film’s success was expected, now the question becomes how high can it go? It’s currently ranked #29 on the all-time worldwide box office list, and while April hasThe Fate of the Furiouson the way, it’s still a relatively slow month soBeauty and the Beastshould have some room to grow until the summer movie season begins.
Of course, this kind of onslaught is par for the course for Disney, which expects to dominate at the box office at this point. The studio should expect to add a few more billion-dollar films to its ranks this year with the release ofGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2andStar Wars: The Last Jediat the very least (I’m curious to see ifCars 3can continue the franchise’s success at the box office). It will also be interesting to see if any other live-action Disney film can eclipseBeauty and the Beast’s record. While the studio has plenty of live-action adaptations in the pipeline, the only one I can see outpacingBeauty and the BeastisJon Favreau’s live-action adaptation ofThe Lion King.
Where do you think Beauty and the Beast will top out? What other films do you think will cross $1 billion this year? Sound off in the comments section.
