To say “Beauty and the Beast” conjured up some magic for Disney at the box office would be an understatement.
The live-action remake captured audiences on its opening weekend, bringing in an estimated $170 million dollars domestically, according to Box Office Mojo.
“Beauty and the Beast” easily overtook last weekend’s top movie “Kong: Skull Island,” which made $28.8 million in its second weekend. “Logan” placed third with an estimated $17.5 million.
Not only did “Beauty and the Beast” clobber the competition, but it also broke several records in the process.
It had the biggest opening weekend ever for the month of March, topping the record set by “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” ($169.1 million) in 2016.
It also nabbed the title of the seventh largest opening weekend ever, besting “Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows – Part 2” ($169.1 million).
“Beauty and the Beast” surpassed Pixar’s “Finding Dory” for the largest opening for a PG-rated movie. It’s also ahead of other Disney live-action remakes—“The Jungle Book,” “Cinderella,” “Maleficent” and “Alice in Wonderland.”
The movie also made its mark internationally, pulling in an estimated $180 million from 44 markets.
“Beauty and the Beast” is on track to be one of the biggest movies of the year for The Walt Disney Company, unless “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” or “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” can top it.