Disney's most recent live-action juggernaut continues to rake in money at the box office, as it just passed the $1 billion mark. "Beauty and the Beast," starring Emma Watson and Luke Evans, has been enchanting the box office by setting records and has now reached the $1 billion dollar mark that many have predicted.
Another addition for Disney in the billionaire's club
By crossing the $1 billion mark, "Beauty and the Beast" became the 29th film in history to accomplish the amazing feat, taking less than a month to do so as the film released on March 17th.
For Disney this is not only their 14th film to reach the $1 billion mark, but the last five films to do so have all been from the company.
Raking in the money, with more to come
The film started very strong domestically with an opening weekend box office total of $174.4 million that has only increased. The film has now made a total of $435 million alone domestically, which is $10 million more than the original 1991 animated classic made worldwide. Overseas, "Beauty and the Beast" was a beast in Europe, making more than $217 million. In Europe it has done better than heavy-hitting comic book movies from recent years like "Deadpool" and "Batman v Superman."
The film also performed well in other markets, making $85 million in China and $72 million in the United Kingdom.
It even made $14 million in Russia, despite all the hubbub about banning the film because of its gay character and the 16+ rating it was given in response. The movie will also finally open in Japan next weekend, where it could make the $25 million it needs to pass "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) and make it into the top 25 list of highest-grossing films of all-time.
Could Disney have another billion dollar box office hit in 2017?
Disney has four more films coming out in 2017 that all have the potential to cross the $1 billion dollar mark. In May "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" comes out, the previous film made Disney $773 million worldwide. That month "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" also comes out.
Two of the previous Pirates movies, "Dead Man's Chest" and "Stranger Tides" both crossed the $1 billion mark. "Cars 3" comes out in June, with the previous film having made $562 million. Finally, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" comes out in December and is a no-brainer in terms of reaching that mark.
