Disney has thehighest-grossing domestic movie of 2017, and honestly, it isn’t even close. Their live-action remake ofBeauty and the Beasthas been raking in the dough ever since it was released in March and now, it has crossed a very significant milestone. With the Memorial Day weekend box office taken into account,Beauty and the Beasthas now grossed more than $500 million domestically.
According toBox Office Mojo, Disney’sBeauty and the Beasthas grossed just over $500 million domestically, making it just the eighth movie ever to do so. The other movies to accomplish the same feat includeStar Wars: The Force Awakens($936.7 million),Avatar, ($760.5 million),Titanic($658.7 million),Jurassic World($652.3 million),Marvel’s The Avengers($623.4 million),The Dark Knight($534.9 million) andRogue One: A Star Wars Story($532.2 million). For those keeping score, four of the eight movies happen to beDisney releases, which speaks to just how dominant they have been at the box office in recent years.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2is currently in the number two spot in terms of domestic box office performance, which also happens to be a Disney movie. ButGuardians, while a big hit in its own right, as only made $333 million domestically, which is quite a ways away from whatBeauty and the Beasthas been able to accomplish. Rounding out the top five domestic hits of 2017 so far areLogan($226 million),The Fate of the Furious($222 million) andThe LEGO Batman Movie($175 million). It is clear that there is a big desire from moviegoers to see theselive-action remakesof Disney animated classics.
Even with a steep budget of $160 million, theBeauty and the Beast remakeis going to be a massive moneymaker for the Mouse House. That should give them a whole lot of confidence moving forward, as they have a lot of other live-action adaptations in the works. Next year will see a live take onMulan, but they also have new takes onThe Lion King,Dumbo,The Little Mermaidand many more at various stages of development. SinceBeauty and the Beast, as well as recent live-action remakes likeCinderellaandThe Jungle Book, have made bank, don’t expect them to slow down on similar remakes in the future.
Internationally, directorBill Condon’sBeauty and the Beasthas also done incredibly well. The movie currently is the highest-grossing worldwide hit of 2017 as well, with $1.32 billion in total.The Fate of the Furiousis right on its heels with $1.22 billion, but after that, it is pretty much a race for third place.Beauty and the Beastis also the highest-grossing PG movie ever made and it has a very strong chance of being the top earner for the year when all is said and done. Safe to say, Disney isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
