‘Beauty and the Beast’ tops the North American box office with $170M

Rumours during filming of Beauty And The Beast abounded that Dan Stevens, who plays the Beast, was refused a rental auto upgrade in order to accommodate his two children; it was also claimed that Disney refused to pay for an upgraded flight for Lily James’ mother during promotion for Cinderella. “What’s exciting here is there is an opportunity to see these beloved stories in a way that’s never been seen before, but you get to build that on the foundation of something that’s very familiar”.

The film stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast, as well as Luke Evans as Gaston, the narcissistic villain constantly after Belle’s hand in marriage. Belle is an inventor, not just an assistant to her father, and invents her own washing machine.

It’s worth noting that many people took offense to the uber-hyped “gay scene” in the film, and subsequently dubbed LeFou the first gay Disney character. Beauty and the Beast broke that box office record by $4 million and seems to have nothing but momentum moving forward with the film. The story follows Belle as she learns to look beyond the Beast’s disgusting exterior to see a kind and loving heart within.

She takes his place as the Beast’s prisoner and resigns herself to a life of confinement under his control. The Bill Condon-directed film is now the No. 2 March debut of all time both globally and internationally.

For starters, it’s much longer – 129 minutes long to be exact, which is probably its biggest downfall.

Most major studios steered clear of “Beauty and the Beast”.

Disney was already expecting a hit weeks before Beauty hit theaters. But she’s also soft, captivating and can hold a tune.

“But you don’t get to $170 million because of nostalgia”, Hollis added. The horror film, which cost less than US$5 million to make, grossed US$4.1 million.

The star-studded cast – which includes British actors Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor and Emma Thompson – recorded the largest March opening weekend in the US. In the process she lifts a curse that’s left the Beast’s kingdom populated by talking household items.

Beauty and the Beast is now playing in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D cinemas across the Philippines.