‘Beauty and the Beast’ roars with monstrous $170M debut

According to Mashable, the Emma Watson starring film is estimated to take a mammoth $170m at the U.S. box office this weekend. That’s more than the animated feature earned during its entire theatrical run in the USA, which ended at $145.9 million.

“Beauty and the Beast” blew past the previous record-holder for G- or PG-rated releases, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The domestic total exceeded what people in the industry had expected, and it broke the record for the biggest box office opening in March.

Internationally, Beauty placed No. 1 nearly everywhere.

The phenomenal start for the film gives more fuel to Disney’s DISN, -0.67% strategy of making live-action, visual effects-filled remakes of its animated classics.

Beauty recorded the seventh best opening overall in the United States and Canada. Femmes made up 72 percent of the audience, while 28 percent were males. Almost half the audience were adults and teens, a startling stat for a PG family title; the remainder were parents and kids.

The character portrayals in this film were fabulous, Emma Watson played a stunning Belle, but the highlight of Beauty and the Beast was Luke Evans portrayal of Gaston. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films produced.

Watson was a flawless Belle and shined in her role, and Stevens managed to make a computer generated image (CGI) Beast feel believable. SM Lanang Premier houses the only IMAX theater in Mindanao.

Well, how about biggest start ever for a PG title in both North America and overseas huge!

Watson brings Belle to life as a stronger, more intelligent and independent young woman than we’ve seen before. Where available, the latest global numbers also are included.

Most major studios steered clear of Beauty and the Beast. That pushes the monster movie’s domestic haul to US$110.1 million. This is what makes Disney such a powerhouse. In China, the film grossed $3.4 million on 386 screens.

The Belko Experiment follows a group of American corporate types, who are locked in a high-rise office in Bogota, Colombia. The film is expected to bring in $174 million dollars for it’s massive opening weekend, besting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which broke the March record past year with $166 million.

It carries a hefty $160 million budget but it has already recouped that and looks likely to earn far more as its run continues.