‘Beauty and the Beast’ Sets Pre-Summer Record for a Tuesday
Disney’s smash hit “Beauty and the Beast” is showing no signs of slowing down, setting a pre-summer record gross for a film playing on a Tuesday.
The live-action remake earned $17.9 million. That’s far above the previous North American record holder, “Furious 7,” at $13.3 million and last year’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” at $12.1 million. The number also topped the first Tuesdays of three other Disney blockbusters: “The Avengers,” “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” and “Captain America: Civil War. ”
Disney also noted that “Beauty and the Beast” has crossed $200 million at the domestic box office in five days, tying with four other titles in reaching that milestone in the same time — “Captain America: Civil War,” “The Dark Knight,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”
“Beauty and the Beast” scored the sixth-highest domestic opening of all time with $174.8 million, trailing only “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” at $248 million, “Jurassic World” at $208.8 million, “Marvel’s The Avengers” at $207.4 million, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” at $191.3 million, and “Captain America: Civil War” at $191.3 million.
The international haul for “Beauty and the Beast” rose by $18.2 million on Tuesday to reach $222.3 million for a global take of $428.5 million in less than a week.
The foreign release represents about 65% of the international market. The movie will open in France on Wednesday and in Australia on Thursday. It’s set to debut in Japan on April 21.
Disney spent $160 million making the movie, directed by Bill Condon. The cast includes Emma Watson as Belle and “Downton Abbey” alum Dan Stevens as her cursed love interest.
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